Buried
by FreewayofFlight
Summary: Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps come face to face with disaster, but their greatest challenge is what happens after...
1. The Chase Is On

"_Suspect is Northbound on the 113 Freeway toward City Center, exceeding 100 miles per hour, darting all over the highway, multiple close calls with civilians!_" Squawked Officer Nicolas Wilde as his partner, Officer Judy Hopps, piloted the police cruiser as it roared through traffic. The officers swayed in their seats as the cruiser was jerked from one lane to another trying to keep up with the suspects who were doing their own slalom around the hundreds of other cars on the highway. The towers of downtown Zootopia glittered in the late-afternoon sun as bystanders stopped to watch from the overpasses as the chase unfolded through the city. The sirens wailing as the tires chirped and squealed each time the car was thrown into another lane trying to get close to the fleeing car. 

"_10-4… Attention all units, vehicle moving at a high rate of speed on 113 Northbound toward Savanna Central, vehicle is ignoring lights, approach with caution…"_ The static-tinged voice of the dispatcher relayed over the radio as they worked to keep up with the suspects. Nick's claws dug into the control panel on the car door every time his partner weaved too close to passing cars. 

"Watch it, Carrots!" Wilde said as the driver suddenly changed lanes to avoid a semi-trailer, the engine of the police cruiser growled menacingly as it catapulted itself around the truck. The fox's heart leaping out of his chest as his partner drove. After all these years, he had never been more routinely frightened until he encountered Judy's driving. 

"It was only catnip… _catnip!"_ Judy said aloud, not paying attention to her partner's pleading. She was focused on the highway, dumbfounded by how a misdemeanor possession charge had now become a slew of felonies that was certainly going to land these kids in jail. And they _were_ kids; they looked barely out of high school, one still looked like he had braces. Nick could smell the catnip before the two of them even saw the baggie. It probably wasn't even worth writing a ticket over, heck; a stern talking to would have been more than enough to scare them straight. Judy didn't understand. She didn't understand why their reaction was to steal some guy's car while he was inside the convenience store paying for his gas, couldn't understand why they sped off ripping the hose off of the gas pump. Now, the chase was on, and if her partner knew anything about her, he knew she wasn't going to give up without a fight. With every move the getaway car made, Judy was right behind them. She pressed her foot on the gas pedal trying to get closer to them. They were _not_ going to get away! 

"I'd prefer not to have a procession in our honor! Please and thank you!" Nick's claws nearly carving a hole in the dashboard Judy launched across three lanes of traffic, cars all around them blaring their horns and flashing their lights as they swerved to avoid the cops and the suspects trying to evade them. 

"If you're going to get car sick, there's bags in the glove box." Replied Judy without a moment's hesitation while her eyes were glued to the getaway vehicle like a child who was glued to their tablet. 

"I'm not worried about getting car sick…" he said as Hopps continued speeding down the freeway. " I'm worried about becoming road kill!" Nick felt like a ragdoll in the passenger seat. With every twist of the steering wheel he thought he was either going to end up in Judy's lap, or out the passenger window. If they weren't racing down a busy Zootopia freeway, he might actually like the latter. 

_"Suspect is exiting the 113 Northbound at Wolfington! Exiting at Wolfington!"_ Officer Wilde held on as Officer Hopps dove across more lanes of traffic to follow the suspects as they attempted to outmaneuver the rabbit cop. The getaway car was slowed by civilian vehicles on the congested exit ramp. _"Eastbound, Eastbound on Wolfington!"_ The fox relayed as the pursuit continued onto the surface streets of the city center. Now he was getting scared. The freeway was a walk in the park as they now raced through red lights, careening into oncoming traffic, and trying to not to collide with any pedestrians. 

"Carrots, you might want to consider letting this one go…" Wilde said gently while clutching the handle above the door, which Judy referred to as the 'litter-box handle'. 

"Letting them go… _are you out of your mind?"_ Each of Nick's words hit her like individual slaps to the face. The rabbit shot him an eye, brow furrowed, lip curled in disgust as she was forced onto the curb to avoid side swiping a civilian car. 

_"Southbound, Southbound on Bullock"_ Nick radioed. 

"These are just kids!" He tried to reason with his partner. "They were probably more worried we'd rat them out to their parents!" He watched Judy's face, laser focused on the suspects getting away from her. Knowing full well he had a better chance of sneaking a doughnut from Clawhauser than to persuade Judy Hopps of pulling back from catching a criminal. 

"They are _not_ getting away!" Nick started to wonder if stubbornness was an inherit trait with rabbits, or if it was just her. 

"_10-50, Suspect collided with civilian, Bullock and Greyhound, suspect vehicle fleeing scene, Eastbound on Greyhound Avenue!"_ Nick called out to dispatch as the getaway driver drove through a red light, ripping the rear bumper of a passing car clean off and causing the car to fishtail toward the curb. Judy dodged out of the way as the traffic signal mast arm came crashing down, aluminum signals shattering on the asphalt. The bumper of the victim's car spun as it slid across the intersection. Nick could smell the burned rubber from the car at it came to rest on the sidewalk. 

"Hopps, this is getting dangerous…" Nick wasn't trying to hide his nerves now. This chase had to end, or someone was going to get hurt. 

"Not until we catch them!" Judy demanded as she sped down the boulevard after the getaway car. 

"They're heading for the Caribou Arcade…" He said as he watched the cars speed down the street toward the multistory shopping complex. "Call it off, Carrots; we can't risk hitting a pedestrian!" His ears were low on his head as they got increasingly close to the throngs of shoppers. Judy's paws gripped to the steering wheel like a vice; her arms turning with the wheel. Her teeth clenched as she let out a loud growl of her own watching the getaway car dart through traffic. 

_"Suspect still Eastbound on Greyhound and Caribou Arcade- 10-50! 10-50! Suspect crashed!"_ The kids in the stolen car were slammed by two cars as they tried to run another red light. Tires screamed as all three slowed to an eventual stop. The mangled wreckage of the getaway car slid onto the sidewalk in front of the Caribou Arcade as people tried to avoid being hit themselves. Nick felt his heart drop into his stomach as his fears materialized before him; now he was just hoping no one had been killed. The police cruiser screeched to a halt as the driver of the stolen car popped open the door and started running toward the massive shopping plaza. 

"_Oh, no he doesn't!"_ Growled Judy as she launched herself out of the car and took off after the suspect. "_Officer Hopps, I'm in pursuit on foot of suspect! Suspect is a young black jaguar, wearing a red shirt and denim shorts! Suspect is heading inside the Caribou Arcade!"_ Officer Hopps radioed as she gave chase. Officer Wilde raced to the car where the passenger of the stolen car was still inside. 

"Let me see your hands!" He barked to the kid as he approached him. The kid had a look of pure terror on his as he locked eyes with Wilde, his big eyes filling with tears. Wilde listened to him trying to stifle sobs. "Are you okay? What's your name, kid" His voice softened to one of concern. 

"Ja-Jason… My arm hurts…" The spotted cheetah blubbered as reality came back and the shock was beginning to wear off. "Officer… I'm sorry… I told him to stop… he wouldn't listen…" The spotted cheetah began sobbing as it dawned on him the situation he was in. 

"_Officer Wilde requesting EMS at Greyhound and Herdnon."_ He radioed as he looked over the cheetah. 

"Can you move your legs, Jason?" Nick softened as he listened to the kid heaving, his face streaked from crying. The cheetah let out a wail as he tried to move his right leg. 

"Okay! Easy, easy, easy!" The fox said as the boy started crying louder trying to move. "Stay still, okay? We're going to get you out, just relax; everything is going to be just fine." Nick soothed as he put a paw on the cheetah's shoulder to calm him down. Nick tried opening the door, but it was mangled shut. His colleagues pulled up to the scene of the accident quickly while Judy ran into the shopping mall after the driver. 

"Am… I… going to… jail?" The boy gasped in between words as mucus began seeping out of his nostrils. The cop pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and held it to the boy's nose. 

"Blow." The cheetah did so as Nick leaned against the damaged car. "Now… about jail…" He said in his typical sly demeanor. "First, we got to get you checked out at the hospital, and then, we're going to check to make sure you've been a _really_ good boy." The cheetah's tear-filled eyes were locked on Officer Wilde as his bottom lip trembled furiously. "… and if you _super-promise_ never to…" 

"I won't do it again! I promise! I swear! I'll be a good boy! I won't do it again!" The boy begged as he started sobbing again. 

"There, there… you'll be fine, sit tight, okay? The paramedics are going to come help get you patched up and you'll be out of here before you know it." The cheetah nodded as Nick turned to address his fellow officers. 

"Hey! He can't move his legs and he may have a broken arm!" Nick called out to one of the paramedics as they arrived on scene, pointing to the cheetah.


	2. Dust in the Eyes

_A/N:_

_First, I want to say thanks to the positive response to this story! Writing this story has really been exciting process for me and I hope you continue to enjoy it!_

_Secondly, I want to apologize in advance if updates are slow and irregular. I want to make sure I am putting out work that I feel is worthy of being read. Thank you in advance for your patience!_

* * *

Judy raced inside the shopping center just as fast as she was when she was driving the cruiser. Her eyes never losing sight of the jaguar, only slowing down to avoid slamming into the automatic doors. Inside the cavernous shopping center, hundreds of thousands of shoppers were going about their business, whether it was looking at handbags, or ordering from the food court. Judy leapt onto a kiosk selling calendars and launched herself onto the second level. From there, she saw the jaguar running through the crowd. Adrenaline pumping through her as she pushed herself faster through the gold accented building. The mall was warm and bright, with an enormous skylight running the entire length of the main shopping corridor. Columns reached up and fanned out like interlaced trees to support the roof structure. It was like walking through a desert canyon with its sandstone colored walls. Judy snaked around shoppers as she tried to maintain pace with the jaguar. He had slowed down at the center atrium; looking around to see of the cop that pursued him through the heart of Zootopia was still after him. The cop saw an opportunity and jumped onto an awning for a store selling fragrances, and dive bombed in an attempt to ambush her suspect. His eyes caught her, and he bolted for the food court. Judy landed with a roll, feet streaking across the floor as she regained traction and took off running again.

"STOP! ZPD!" Judy screamed into the crowd, eyes focused on the jaguar attempting to get away from her. She was catching up as the corridor expanded into a massive dining area, with crowds queuing in the concession lines, carrying lunch trays, sitting and eating.

Suddenly, Judy's eyes slammed shut as her paws instinctively clasped to her face. Blinded, Judy crashed into a row of food court tables, grabbing one and pulling it over, loud scraping of tables and chairs echoed through the food court as she came to a rest on the polished floor. She rubbed the tears from her face as her eyes watered intensely again. After rubbing her eyes with her sleeve for the twentieth time, she was finally able to open them after a view minutes of furious burning. They felt raw and irritated. Judy jumped on one of the tables and scanned the crowd. He was gone. She grunted and kept looking over and over, still not finding the animal who caused her to race through traffic and through a crowded mall. She just saw a crowded shopping mall and her reflection in an advertisement for perfume.

_"Officer Hopps, I have lost visual on the suspect, I repeat, lost visual. He was last seen headed toward the exit at the food court."_ Every one of those words grated her like nails on a chalkboard. She didn't get the bad guy. Her feet felt like cement blocks as she walked back to her partner as disappointment dug into her like a tick. As she past the spot where she was blinded, Judy looked up. A crack in the plaster ceiling, about two feet in length, that's all that had stood in the way of her and the kid who stole a car and raced through the city. Judy glared at it before the cement blocks at her feet broke away; instead, she stomped like a giant lizard rampaging through Zootopia. Her fists clenched tight as she weaved through the crowd, thinking about how just some plaster dust was enough to let the jaguar get away. Just as she was passing the atrium…

_**POP!**_

Everyone in the mall froze in their tracks as a single loud pop echoed through the building. Judy looked up to try to find where the sound might have come from. It was a noise she hadn't heard before. Her nose sniffed rapidly, trying to decipher what it was. What was it? And where was it coming from?


	3. Extraction

"Jason, look at me! I need you to look at me!" Said Officer Wilde as the cheetah wailed. Firefighters were cutting into the passenger door so paramedics could pull him from the car. One of the medics was able to put a neck brace on him before it was determined he couldn't be pulled through the driver's side door. Jason's legs were pinned between the center console and the passenger door. From the sound of his screaming, Nick would bet everything he owned that at least one of the cheetah's legs were broken. The cheetah looked at the fox, his eyes filled with water as he tried to get away from the saw blades tearing through the metal.

"I'm… I'm… scar… scared!" Jason gasped as he inhaled loudly.

"I know… I know, kid." Nick said softly, trying to keep Jason's attention on him. "Listen… you're in the hands of the best firefighters, police, and medics in the city. Take Travoli, here…" Nick pointed to the panda operating the saw, who in turn, glanced up at Nick to acknowledge him. "Not _only_ did he save fourteen kittens from a burning apartment building, but… he is the best ballerina I have ever seen!" The fox said with a smile, the cheetah responded with a slight chuckle in between sobs. "Oh! And Cattaghan over there?" Wilde beckoned to a patrol car where a female snow leopard was talking into her radio. "She took out three bank robbers with a _single pencil_… and by the way, if you're looking for a prom date, _she's single_!" Nick put his paw to his face as if he were telling the cheetah a secret, to which Jason giggled some more.

"He's free!" Said Travoli as the door started to come loose. Jason clenched his good fist tightly as the door was pulled away from his legs. He let out a scream the more his legs were freed.

"Careful!" One of the other firefighters said as they grabbed onto the door to keep it from falling. The car door was finally pulled away as Jason was sat in the seat.

"Jason, you're doing great! You're being very brave right now!" Nick said trying to comfort the crying teenager. Paramedics rushed in carrying a backboard, laying it down next to the car.

"Okay… we're going to have to move you, okay?" One of the medics began splinting Jason's legs and broken arm.

"Mm-hmm…" Jason nodded trying to hold back more tears. He gasped and squealed as they extracted him from the car.

"You did amazing, kiddo!" Nick gave the cheetah a congratulatory pat on his shoulder as he was wheeled to the waiting ambulance.

"Thank you, sir…" Jason said as he was lifted into the ambulance.

"Great job guys!" Nick said to the firefighters who have a polite nod, except Travoli, who checked Nick hard in the shoulder, turning back and grinning at the fox.

However, one of Nick's ears picked up something, a popping noise. He turned, trying to listen for the noise again through the sirens and the hum of the traffic and emergency vehicles. He positioned his ears toward the Caribou Arcade, his eyes squinting, lowering his head so his ears could pick up more sound. _What was it?_ Nick walked toward his and Judy's police cruiser.

_"Hopps, you done playing cops and robbers?"_ Nick radioed to his partner, who was still inside the shopping mall.


	4. Everything Must Go

_"Stick it in your muzzle!"_ Judy fired back as she turned the corner at the atrium. Something made her feel uneasy. Nothing looked out of place, the tree-like columns stood tall and strong as Judy walked…

_**POP! POP!**_

Outside, Nick shot up from leaning against the patrol car as the noise rang through the street, his fellow officers stopping in their tracks and looking at the Caribou Arcade. Hairs on the back of Nick's neck stood on end. His brows furrowed as he looked at the seven story shopping mall, looking for any sign of distress.

Everyone inside froze again. This time, more people started heading for the exits. An uneasy scuttle cascaded through the mall as shoppers collectively decided that they bought what they needed. Judy could hear an anxious murmur rush through the crowd as she too walked faster toward the exit.

_**CRASH!**_

The entire building shuddered as dust rained down onto Judy. Bits of plaster broke free and fell from the ceiling as the police officer looked up to see parts of the tree-like columns cracking. Chunks of the massive columns became loose and crashed to the ground, crushing kiosks, displays, and, to Judy's horror, people trying to flee the mall. The massive glass skylight exploding into a hailstorm of shards, piercing people as they broke into a panic trying to escape the mall as the Seventh Floor imploded on itself, more concrete rained down while more columns snapped and shattered. The rumble of the building was highlighted by thousands of screams as elevator cables were severed, and the runaway cars slammed into the ground floor, crushing like soda cans, the glass windows bursting outward into the crowd. Escalators became dislodged, throwing shoppers over the side, staircases on the top floors buckled in half under the weight of the falling concrete. The rumble becoming a volcanic thunder as the Sixth, and then the Fifth floors pancaked on top of each other crushing everything that didn't manage to escape. The smooth, elegant columns began to bow, eventually snapping like dry spaghetti, flinging debris into shoppers, smashing store windows, and destroying the walkways on the upper floors.

_"Everyone remain calm!"_ Officer Hopps shouted as she tried to project order into the chaos. No one listened as she was shoved into a vending machine, she watched as debris and people fell from the upper floors, listening to the screams as cement, rebar, and broken glass assailed the fleeing shoppers. Fourth. Third. Floors continued to slam down. Second. Judy picked herself up and started running for the door. Debris rained down around her, banners advertising sales fell down like confetti in a parade. She heard people screaming as they were knocked over the railings and plunged to the ground. Fear welled inside her as she sprinted toward the door. She was going to make it. She had to make it! Judy tripped on a crack in the floor. The rabbit picked herself up; she watched everything get dark around her… and the feeling that there was nothing under her feet.

Nick jumped backward as a booming roar echoed through the streets. The glass curtain wall of the entrance shattering, sending bits of glass raining down as cracks raced across the exterior of the building. The people outside listened as a wave of shrieks and screams swept through the mall, people exploding into the street, pushing the automatic doors off their tracks. Plumes of dust and debris rushed out along with the people. Chunks of concrete peeled off the shopping center façade, crushing cars parked along the street. Pedestrians on the sidewalk fled into the road as some were crushed by large cement boulders. Nick scanned as he watched the chaos, looking for a rabbit police officer, trying to find a pair of violet eyes among all the people who rushed out of the building. More chunks of concrete crashed to the ground as a stew of smoke and dust swallowed everything around it. The grayish brown cloud drowned out the screaming of those tried to get out. Nick tried looking through the dust, looking for anyone, hoping she would emerge.

_"All units! All units! Collapse at Caribou Arcade! I repeat… the Caribou Arcade has collapsed! All available EMS and Fire respond and assist! Activate Search and Rescue! Notify all Zootopia hospitals to activate mass casualty event protocols! All units stand by for further instruction!"_

Nick's radio squawked as he looked into the clouded abyss. Shadows began to emerge, one, then five, animals of all shapes and sizes staggered into view. Some clutching their heads, others who stared blankly ahead, not really focused on anything. The eerie silence was broken by the chorus of hundreds, if not thousands, of wails. Screams of pain, of desperation, Nick was frozen in that moment. He watched survivors as they held bleeding wounds, watched their faces as they cried out in terror.

"Hopps!" He whispered as he started toward the gray-brown cloud, he could feel his heart pounding, trying to burst through his chest. His mouth became dry as words crashed into each other, his throat choking them off before they could be heard.

"Hopps!" Nick called out louder, breaking into a jog, then a sprint, seeing more people as they limped out of the smoldering wreckage. He changed course, weaving around pieces of concrete and creatures lying motionless on the ground. He didn't see her.

"JUDY!" Nick screamed as he reached a mountain of crushed concrete, steel, and glass. "JUDY!" He didn't hear her. Every time he called her name, an echo of moans called back at him. He couldn't see through the dust cloud. His nose was flooded with pulverized concrete. He coughed as particles were inhaled into his lungs. "JUDY!" Nick descended into a fit of hacking and coughing. The air surrounding him was suffocating him as he tried finding his partner in the rubble.

"Wilde! Are you okay?" Called out Officer Delgato as he met up with Nick.

"Judy…" He wheezed. "Hopps is in there…" He pulled his handkerchief up to his muzzle to keep the dust out of his airway. Delgado placed his arm around Wilde and steered them both away from the collapsed building. They emerged from the dust, looking at brilliant flashes of red, white, and blue lights from dozens of emergency vehicles that had already flooded the street.

_"Officer down! Officer Hopps is missing, possibly trapped inside the Caribou Arcade!"_ Delgato relayed into his radio.


	5. Cats & Dogs

"That grunt told us they'd be moving any day." Nick said as he looked through a police dossier.

"Yeah, we got to stop them before Fisherman's Wharf gets gassed." Judy cruised down the highway into the Rustbelt, a collection of early 20th Century factories that sat decaying in Savanna Central's Dock District. The buildings stood as symbols of the city's emerging industrial strength, now standing as tombstones of a bygone era, overtaken by high-tech advancement and cheap foreign labor.

"First, a sonic attack on a lieutenant, now a chemical attack on an entire gang leadership?" Nick said in astonishment.

They were tracking down members of the K-9 Crew. The gang was in the middle of a turf war with 9 Lives. After interrogating one of the K-9 Crew's capos, the police were expediting their efforts to intercept the K-9's who where leading this planned assault on the 9 Lives. The plan was to launch an attack on the rival gang's headquarters near Fisherman's Wharf in Tundratown. According to the informant, they managed to weaponize Easter Lily pollen and planned to poison the entire leadership by combining the pollen with conventional smoke bombs. This would be a tit-for-tat response following members of the 9 Lives gang for launching a dog whistle attack on a car carrying one of the top lieutenants of the K-9's. When paramedics arrived at the flipped limousine, wheels still rotating, shattered glass all over the freeway, there was not much they could do besides pronouncing them dead at the scene.

"It's getting out of control. Do you know how many felines hang out at Fisherman's Wharf?" Concern was evident in Judy's voice as they drove though abandoned factories.

"You don't have to tell me, I know it's going to be a disaster." Nick replied as Judy spotted one of the vans the informant identified as belonging to the gang. They parked the car on the side of the street and waited. The vehicle they were seated in was an old land yacht that was meant to exude power and class in its time. Now, it was just a rusted heap with dents and missing hubcaps with dark tinted windows.

"_This is Fox and Hound, we are in position."_ Officer Wilde radioed to dispatch. He looked over at his partner, leaned back in the seat, staring at the warehouse where the van was parked a few blocks away.

"Why is our call sign 'Fox and Hound'?" Judy asked.

"You remember watching that movie when you were a kid, right?" Nick replied.

"Not coming to me…" Judy said trying to think of the movie Nick was referring to. He looked back at her with slight disappointment.

"Why can't dogs and cats just get along?" Nick asked aloud as he stared at the warehouse, his partner cracking a grin. "Maybe if they just hug it out…" The fox's eyes fluttered as he spoke, wistfully dreaming of two crime bosses coming together and ending their blood feud.

_Hmmph…_ "The day I see that is the day I vote Bellwether for president." Judy said amused.

"What do you think the city is going to do with this old garbage dump?" Nick waved his paw across the dozens of derelict buildings.

"Hmmm… I don't know; guess the city doesn't care that much about it." Judy thought out loud.

"You know, when I was a kid, I thought it would be the coolest thing ever to open a theme park…" Judy turned to her partner, smiling at the idea of Nick Wilde as a carnival barker. "It would have _everything!_ Rollercoasters, a cheetah run, whack-a-carrot, and all the overpriced, artery clogging, deep-fried fatty food you could ever throw money at." He rambled off as Judy burst into a giggle.

"I could see myself going there." Judy said.

"And… if you're a good little bunny who does her chores, I _might_ be able to hook you up with a friends and family discount." Nick winked at her while smiling his mischievous smile.

"Okay, slick." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Not getting in for free with that attitude…" He chided as she looked out the driver's side window to avoid laughing more.

"What do we have here?" Judy snapped back into investigation mode as she caught movement down the street. Two wolves emerged from the backside of the warehouse and walked together toward the van.

"Showtime…" Nick said quietly.

"_This is Fox and Hound; we have visual on two males, approaching an unmarked van."_ Nick squawked into the radio.

The pair watched the gang members open the back doors of the van. First there was feet, than legs wriggling, followed by a torso with arms tied around its back wearing a sack over its head.

"_A possible abducted person is being pulled from the van… requesting back-up…"_ Nick radioed in.

"What are they doing?" Judy asked aloud. She watched as the tail of the bound creature flicked angrily as the wolves fought to keep the animal under control. One pulled out a truncheon and began beating the bound victim until they were subdued. After the captive stopped moving, the wolves dragged the unmoving creature back to where they had entered.

"Carrots, what are _you_ doing?" Nick said reproachfully as Judy popped the door to their stakeout car.

"That was a feline tail…" Judy said as she moved to get out of the car.

"So?" Nick replied.

"_So…_" Judy mocked him. "It means they may be using him as a test victim…"

"We can't get too close! We don't know how much muscle is in there." Nick knew that back up was 20 minutes out, plenty of time for something to go wrong. "Carrots… get back here!" He hissed at her as she exited the car, him reluctantly following suit. They stuck close to the abandoned buildings, walking single file in an attempt to stay covert.

"I don't like this, Carrots…" Nick said in a low voice to Judy.

"Guess you're not as tough as you say you are…" Judy turned back and winked at him as they got closer to the van.

"I don't think being tough factors in this situation…" Nick nudged her in the back with his elbow, her ears batting him in the face, the hairs tickling his nose. "You're going to make me sneeze." He said before the rabbit folded her ears.

"I can climb up to the window and take a peek inside." Judy said as she pointed to a ladder.

"Carrots, you'll be exposed!" His eyes widened as he considered her plan.

"Well _cover me!_" She said as she darted over to the ladder, Nick groaned with anxiety as he watched her scale the ladder. His head darted nervously around, checking for any sign they had been spotted as she peered through the filthy glass. After what felt like an eternity, she slid down the rails of the ladder.

"You're going to get tetanus." Nick reprimanded her as she landed on the ground.

"They are definitely getting ready to move…" Judy ignored her partner's scolding. "There's the two wolves, the guy they dragged in, and another wolf putting together the devices. It looks like there are a couple crates ready to go."

"We need to wait for back up before _we_ make any more moves." Nick said.

"We can't let them use that panther as target practice! There's an open door where they came out of, we can stay close and listen for trouble." Judy strategized as they were crouched behind the van.

"We won't have back up for another ten minutes, if things go bad, we're on our own!" Nick reminded her as he tacitly agreed to her plan.

They carefully crept from the van to the side of the building, Nick staying close to the wolf den, and Judy taking the wall of the neighboring building. Both of them marched together, being careful with their steps, trying not to land on anything that might snap or otherwise make noise. Nick and Judy reached a stack of crates near the opened door, crouching low. Judy had a partial view of the activity inside the warehouse. Nick watched her watch the wolves inside, her eyes furrowed in concentration.

"Where'd you pick this one up?" Said one of the gang members.

"Caught him lurking around Sahara Square." Said another.

"What are you doing in Sahara Square, pussycat? Don't you know you're not supposed to be in our turf?" The first said again.

"Guess you're still upset about being run out of Tundratown?" A deeper voice responded. Judy recoiled as Nick heard a loud crack coming from inside followed by a sharp yelp.

"No one asked you to speak, pussycat!" One of the gang members taunted.

"We got a little surprise for the Big Kitty." Nick watched Judy, her mouth ajar as she stared through the doors.

"You see this little thing here?" Judy started breathing rapidly, her eyes getting larger. "It's going to make what you did look like a bad dream." Judy scuttled across the dirt to where Nick was.

"We have to make a move!" Judy said quietly, shifting her eyes to the doors.

"Back up will be here in six minutes!" Nick said, trying to calm her down.

"One of them is holding one of those things right under the panther's nose, if it goes off, he's _dead!_" Judy breathed rapidly as her eyes kept darting back to the doors.

"You know… we just have to pull this pin here…" One of the gang members said, Nick watched the anxiety in Judy's face.

"Hopps, just a few more minutes!" Nick grabbed on to her paw to try and reassure her.

"All I got to do is one quick tug…" The gang member said.

"Judy…" Nick felt the pleading in his voice as he watched Judy growing more frantic.

In a flash, Judy had disappeared. Nick looked to the street to see a pair of unmarked police cars approaching them. Full-fledged panic erupted throughout his body as Judy vanished behind the doors, angrily cursing her for not listening to him.

"_ZPD!"_ Terror washed over his body as Nick heard her voice, getting ready to storm in after her. He tried to regulate his breathing as he watched the unmarked cars pulling to a stop.

_**BANG!**_

The rabbit was thrown backward, hitting the ground and sliding across the dirt. Nick was stopped in his tracks as he tried to stifle his sudden wheezing, suddenly stepping backward from where Judy was, his chest expanding and contracting like his body was just one giant lung. She laid there, a mass of fur, cotton and polyester. He felt like his chest was crushing in on itself.

"Get up, Judy…" He begged, looking back to see the back-up officers charging toward them. "Get up, _please!"_

As Delgato escorted Nick back to his and Judy's patrol car, images of Judy lying in the dirt at the docks flashed before him. The same terror, the same invisible claws ripping his insides out of his body was coursing through his mind. He was prepared to dig through the rubble until his paws bled and his back snapped. He looked around as a fiery red sunset washed over the city, massive crowds gathered at the caution tape, all with the same shock and fear in their faces. Some were holding each other, others calling out names, others with phones out taking pictures of the carnage. Nick watched as paramedics scrambled, wheeling stretchers to a loading bay of ambulances that were lined up like mail trucks. Others were caring for the injured; Nick's eyes snapped from one grisly scene to another, every screaming person he looked away from, was another not moving. Elk, bears, hippos, giraffes, oryx's, all in various state of injury laid out in triage. Time felt like it was broken, every step he took felt slowed. Ahead of him, another police cruiser pulled up, waved through the barricades by a cop standing sentry. Nick watched as the hulking creature step out of the car, standing tall, casting a shadow against the lights of the street lamps and emergency beacons.

"Wilde…" Said the monolithic beast in front of him.

"Chief…" Nick's voice felt disembodied, his shoulders slacked. His eyes shifted to look at anything but his superior.

"Wilde…" Chief Bogo's deep vibrato rumbled through Nick's body, he could hear the chief as he took a long, deep breath. "I'm sorry."


	6. Breaking News

"What brings you down here, sir?" Nick asked his boss, Bogo responded with a surprised snort. As much as it annoyed him, the chief had never seen Wilde address him with such deference.

"It should be no surprise, but as the incident commander, I need to be here." Bogo said calmly. "And as the incident commander, I am relieving you of your duties."

"With all due respect, I'm not going anywhere…" Nick straightened up, looking Chief Bogo square in the eyes.

"Wilde, you're emotionally compromised. I can't allow you to remain on duty." Bogo reasoned with him. "Go home, get some rest."

"It doesn't matter if I'm on the clock, or not… I'm not leaving." Nick rebutted, leaving no argument left to be had.

"Very well," Bogo said with a deep sigh, nodding his head in understanding. "Wilde, have you contacted her family?"

"Not yet, sir." Wilde replied.

"The evening news started a few minutes ago…" Bogo said, checking the time on his phone and looking back at Nick. "I would prefer if they got the news from you." He said as he walked toward the other officers on scene.

Bonnie pulled the curtains to shield her eyes from the radiant Bunnyborrow sunset that flooded through the living room window. She felt the occasional creaking of the floor boards as she stepped across the family's country home. Outside, the evening bugs were coming to life, loudly buzzing as glows from lightening bugs began dotting the fields. The matriarch of her clan walked into the kitchen where her brood would share family dinners every night. Every time, faces would rotate in and out, sometimes Pop-pop, sometimes Beverly, sometimes Uncle Bob and Aunt Julie. The dinner table was always crowded with nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren. Bonnie walked passed it and turned the burner on underneath a kettle as she looked through the kitchen window. Stu was underneath his work truck, his feet thumping on the ground as she watched him wrestle with the oil pan.

"Hey! No running in the house!" She scolded has her two oldest grandchildren stormed through the house. The six and seven-year-olds stopping in their tracks as their grandmother watched them threateningly. "It's getting late, time to settle down." With an oven mitt, she took the steaming kettle off of the stove and poured the boiling water over a tea bag, stirring as she added sugar to the cup and watched the tea steep. She took the saucer and tea cup and walked back into the living room where the grandchildren were playing. Her grandson was racing toy cars on the hard wood floor, while Bonnie's granddaughter was narrating a day-in-the-life of a restaurant with her dolls.

Bonnie set the tea on a table as she turned to sit in a wooden rocking chair. She sighed peacefully as the chair creaked and rocked back and forth, looking down at her grandkids with blissful satisfaction. Her ears twitched as her husband came through the squeaking door into the kitchen.

"Almost done…" Stu said to himself as he opened the refrigerator door, pulling out a soda can.

"I hope you're not getting grease all over the house, Stu…" Bonnie cocked an eyebrow as she watched him shifting uncomfortably.

"…And don't you _dare_ try to use one of the dish towels to cover it up!" She scolded as she saw him lean out of view, causing Stu to suddenly stiffen up.

"I… ummm… I'll just be outside…" Stu backed away as Bonnie's toes pushed gently against the floor.

"Grandpa's in trouble…" sang the voice of the little girl as one of her dolls was walking to an imaginary table. As she took a sip of her tea, her foot felt the warmth of her grandson as he scooted up to her, his back turned. Bonnie pointed her toes out and began raking his back as she rocked in her chair listening to him purring.

"Grandma?" He asked. "Can we watch the _Carol Bunnett Show_?"

"It's not on tonight, sweetie." Bonnie replied, causing her grandson to pout. "We can watch _Crossword_ after the news…" She said, referring to a hangman-style game show where contestants try to guess letters to word puzzles.

" Okay…" He replied as Bonnie reached for the television remote.

The credits were flashing for a talk show before fading into a series of commercials selling cars, shampoos, and fast food. Her grandson reached over and grabbed one of his toy cars and started rolling it on the floor around him. She took a long sip from her tea as the television screen turned bright red…

_**BREAKING NEWS…**_

Bonnie's ears perked up as she saw the white letters scroll across the red background.

"We begin tonight's broadcast with breaking news in Savanna Central, I'm Fabienne Growley." The cool, accented voice of the female snow leopard said at the news desk.

"And I'm Peter Moosebridge…" Said the co-anchor. "Shock and sadness. Those are the words being used to describe the city tonight. Emergency crews are working around the clock following the sudden, unexplained collapse of the Caribou Arcade shopping complex earlier this evening."

"Stu!" Bonnie called as she sat down her tea, eyes fixed on the television as images of the collapsed shopping mall were played behind the newscasters.

"Witnesses who escaped the building say the collapse occurred with little warning." Growley continued. "The shopping complex, built less than ten years ago, passed routine building inspections just days before the collapse."

"The Mayor's office issued a written statement moments ago offering condolences to the victims and vowing an immediate investigation into the cause of the disaster. The Mayor's office also announced a press conference at the Caribou Arcade, which is expected later in the hour. We will bring you live coverage when the Mayor begins his remarks." Moosebridge said.

"Stu!" Bonnie called again.

"Although unconfirmed at this time, sources at the scene say at least one thousand animals have been reported missing in the last hour. Those at the scene have also stated fears that the death toll could soar into the hundreds." Growley said.

"I'm washing up outside, Bonnie!" Stu replied. "I promise I'm not tracking dirt in the house!"

"Grandma!" Said Bonnie's granddaughter. "Aunt Judy's on TV!" She said pointing at the screen.

"Among the animals unaccounted for in the Caribou Arcade is Zootopia Police's own Judy Hopps…" Moosebridge said as her official portrait was displayed in the news program.

"_Stuart_!" Bonnie yelled as she pushed herself out of her chair and shuffled quickly to the kitchen door. "Stu… It's Judy!" She poked her head through the doorway, looking at her husband washing his hands in an outdoor sink. His eyes darting up as he heard his daughter's name, quickly rubbing the water off of his paws and the two of them hurried back to the living room.

"… Officer Hopps was last seen entering the Caribou Arcade moments before the collapse. The Zootopia Police Department has declined to comment at this time." Moosebridge said as Bonnie rubbed her hands together nervously, Stu had his arms folded, picking at his lips.

Bonnie broke her stare with the television as her cell phone rang, vibrating on the table next to her tea.

"It's Nick!" His face appeared on the phone screen as she picked it up, Bonnie began panting as Stu put a paw between her shoulders.

"Nick?" Her voice quivered as she accepted the call, her paw nervously picking at the buttons of her shirt.

"Nick?..."

"We're watching the news now…" Bonnie darted her eyes back to the television.

"Nick…" She grabbed her shirt collar in her fist.

"Is she okay? Where is she?" She gulped as she spoke.

Stu watched his wife turn, the color draining from her face as her eyes met his. Her teeth chattered as she swallowed hard.

"Call Beverly…" Bonnie struggled to get the words out. Stu searched her face for a stunned minute.

"Okay kids; pick up your toys, your mom's coming to get you." Stu looked down at the two grandkids staring back at them both.

"But I don't wanna…" One of them started to whine.

"_Now_!" Stu snapped bringing an instant silence to his grandchildren as they quickly grabbed their toys and scurried away. Bonnie's feet were planted in the floor as Stu went to the phone in the kitchen.

"Hey, Munchkin…" Stu said as the cord of the wall phone bounced.

"No, Jack and Juniper are fine…"

"Listen, can you come get them, something's come up…"

"We don't know, yet…"

"As soon as you can…"

"Thanks, Munchkin… I love you… see you in a minute." He put the phone back on the receiver and walked back to Bonnie.

"I'll go warm up the car…" Stu said, rubbing Bonnie's shoulders as she inhaled deeply, nodding to her husband. Her breath became choppy, her lips pursed together tightly. Alone in the living room, Bonnie's eyes looked up to the ceiling as the headlights of her daughter's car glowed in the early evening darkness.

Nick was squatted against the tire of the police cruiser as he ended the call with Bonnie. His throat tightened as he listened to the voice of Judy's mother replaying in his head. Listening to her breathing as he had to tell her that their daughter was buried the rubble of a shopping mall. He looked at the background image of his phone glowing back at him. Nick and Judy were staring back at him. Judy, wearing a wide brimmed straw had, a sleeveless flannel shirt and denim cut-offs. Nick wore a pair of dirty overalls over an equally dirty white t-shirt with a trucker hat with the Hopp's Family Farm logo prominently in the center. It was the first time Nick had left the city, the first time he had physically seen a farm. He let out a weak _Hmmph!_ recalling how much sweat poured out of him as he tried his hand helping Stu in the fields, and how grateful he was farming wasn't his livelihood.

The fox stood up as he watched the van with ZOOTOPIA FIRE DEPARTMENT – SEARCH AND RESCUE lettered on the side arriving. The team exited the van and proceeded together toward the rubble of the mall. Known affectionately as the 'Sniffers', the team consisted primarily of wolves whose mission was to scour a disaster area and locate missing animals.

"Alright, team!" The commander of the Search and Rescue team barked to the members of his team as they stood in formation. "We treat this like any other mission!" The steely, icy blue eyes of the commander scanned his troops, his muzzle and ears grayed, the look of a man that Nick would not dare talk back to.

"Zabatoski, Wolford… northwest corner. Gray, Howell… northeast. Hyde, Black… southeast. Inu, Spitz… southwest! Keep your eyes peeled and your feet light! What you'll be standing on will shift at any time! Dismissed!" The Sniffer team barked with one loud, unified voice before breaking off into their assigned areas.

"Coffee?" A voice said, a hoof holding a white cup with steam wafting up lazily through the small mouth hole in the lid.

"Thanks…" Nick said quietly, looking up to see the chief towering over him.

"Hopps is a tough cop." Bogo said as he watched the fox stare blankly toward the rubble, listening to a distant howl of one of the Sniffers.

"She shouldn't have gone in there…" Nick watched as bodies were wheeled to waiting vans.

"Wilde, no one could have seen this coming, not even me. And if you start playing the 'what if' game, it's going to eat you alive." The Chief said sternly, still focused on Wilde.

"She was stupid for chasing those kids." Nick said looking down at the cup in his hand.

"What did Hopps say? 'We all make mistakes.' We're cops, Wilde, but we're not perfect." Chief Bogo let out a deep sigh. "Go home. Get some rest." He said before turning and resuming his role as incident commander. Nick had not felt this way since Judy was shot at the docks. Nick watched as the body of a black jaguar in denim shorts and a tattered red shirt was carried from the rubble. As much as he tried to distract himself, he couldn't stop the fears he had since the docks from replaying in his head. No matter how hard he tried to suppress them.


	7. Two Inches

The front door was pushed open by a single red fur paw as Nick and Judy entered the apartment they shared. The light from the hall illuminated the hard wood floor of the entryway. The apartment was a single bedroom, to the right of the front door was a wood dinette set underneath a low hanging chandelier. To the left of the door was the kitchen, with an L-shaped bar with a full view of the living area. Just on the opposite side of the bar was a sofa, a coffee table that sat on an oval rug, and an entertainment center with a television. The walls were dotted with photographs of Judy's family, Stu and Bonnie, grandparents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. It felt like new pictures were arriving every day from Bunnyburrow. Meanwhile, a single picture of Nick's mother hung, taken at Nick's induction into the Zootopia Police Department, on the wall next to the window looking over to a row of brick apartment buildings. Behind the sofa was a portrait of Nick and Judy in Bunnyborrow, Nick holding Judy close as their paws were interconnected, showing off a sparkling engagement ring. Across the room, above the television, was another portrait of Nick and Judy, this time in their police uniforms. Judy beamed brightly while Nick boasted his trademark cocky smile.

The real Nick was helping the real Judy into the apartment as she wheezed. The bullet that was meant to kill her only hit her Kevlar vest. The impact snapped a couple ribs and bruised her lung. The discharge paperwork that Nick laid on the counter included a follow up appointment and warnings about the potential for a chest infection. Nick gingerly sat her on one end of the sofa as he rearranged the pillows to allow her to lay elevated as lying flat on her back caused too much pain for the rabbit. As Judy turned to rest on the pillows, Nick lifted her and slowly laid her on the couch. Nick watched her wince hard as she adjusted herself before finally coming to rest as he stroked her leg.

"Home sweet home…" Judy said quietly as she sunk into the cushions. Nick watched as she winced while she breathed.

"Do you need anything?" Nick asked. He watched her intently as if she would stop breathing at any minute. Judy closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I just want to go back to work." Judy's eyes remained closed as she was resting on the couch.

"The doctor said it might be a month before you're healed enough." Nick reminded her as he massaged her feet.

_Hmmph…_ "What does he know?" Judy opened her eyes to look at the portrait of them in their uniforms.

"You shouldn't have gone in there…" Nick looked away from Judy as he spoke, trying to shake off the memory of the Docks. He got up and walked into the kitchen, taking the coffee pot and filling it with tap water before pouring it into the reservoir.

"I had to." Judy wheezed, watching him scoop ground coffee into the filter and turning it on. The apartment was silent except the ticking of a wall clock and the gurgling of the coffeemaker. Nick rested his paw at the edge of the counter as he watched the freshly brewing coffee pour into the pot.

"Nick, they were going to kill him." Nick's jaws grinded together slowly as he avoided looking at the rabbit. The fox didn't respond, letting the silence flood into the room around them.

"Would you have rather we waited in the car?" He could hear the incredulousness in her voice despite her hoarse breathing.

"Yes." The only word the fox could muster, his eye glancing over to watch her glower at him.

"I wasn't going to sit there and do nothing!" Nick listened to the harshness growing in her voice, his eyes narrowed as he listened to her. His lips moving as he chewed on his tongue watching the coffee drip.

"And look where it got you…" The words slipped out of Nick's mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

"_Excuse me_?" Judy said dangerously, her eyes narrowing at him. A long silence filled the apartment as the fox and rabbit held their standoff. Out the corner of his eye, Nick could see anger radiating off of her.

"Nick-"

"Do you _know_ how close you were to dying?" Nick snatched the coffee pot and started pouring into his mug.

"Nick, that's part of the job!" Judy responded as if she were lecturing him.

"_Two inches!_" Nick shouted as he shoved the pot back onto the hot plate of the coffeemaker. Hot coffee sloshed inside violently as he let go of the handle. "Two inches and the bullet would have gone through your carotid artery!" Nick took an angry swig from his coffee.

"I was doing wha-"

All we had to do was wait _five more minutes_!" Nick cut her off.

"And then what? We pull out a dead panther?" Judy said indignantly, glaring at him.

"WE ALMOST HAD A DEAD RABBIT!" Judy jumped as Nick slammed the coffee mug on the counter, causing it to shatter. Hot liquid spilled on the counter and dripped onto to the floor as he cursed loudly, trying to find a towel to clean up the mess. He grabbed one off of the oven handle and began wiping up the coffee.

"You scared me." Nick paused wiping and grabbed the counter to hold himself up. "I would do anything for you." His head hung low. "I would cross oceans. I would scale mountains. I would fight an animal twenty times my size." Judy watched her partner as he spoke, listened to him swallowing in between sentences.

"But I'm not ready to plan your funeral." He looked up at her, his ears pressed flat against his skull as he tried to swallow through his closing throat.

"Please don't make me have to…" Nick's voice broke as spoke, air rushing in through his nose and out his mouth in a ragged breath. Judy could hear him swallowing and trying to force down emotions that he swore he would not let anyone see.

He felt his throat closing again as he thought about the last things he said to Judy before she ran into the mall. Nick tried to remember the last time he said 'I love you' to her, but his mind drew a blank. Instead, his mind taunted him, reminding him of every fight, every time he didn't do something special for her. He should have done more to make her feel special, he should have protected her. In the midst of Nick's self-deprecation, he glanced up to the street where scores of people were gathered. A makeshift memorial at the street corner overflowed with flowers, toys, balloons next to large pieces of plywood secured to a neighboring building above a constellation of candles. Each piece of plywood was filled with pictures of loved ones who might have been trapped in the shopping mall. Night had long since fallen at the site and still crowds were massed against the caution tape for much the same reason that Nick had never left.


	8. Home

Out the corner of his eye, a familiar set of ears weaved through the crowd. They emerged into view, grasping the caution tape as they stared in horrified awe at the site that lay before them. The male put a comforting arm around his wife as they surveyed the scene. Tall, bright lamps were positioned across the destruction. The rescuers walking carefully across the wreckage looked like they were walking on a dystopian alien landscape. The distant howls sending shivers down everyone's spines, a conflicting maelstrom of fear, relief, anxiety, all combining as a victim was pulled from the mall.

As the pair of rabbits consoled each other, they caught the attention of one of the reporters covering the scene. One reporter, then the rest, descended on the couple like piranhas looking to feast on a juicy scoop. The rabbits recoiled as microphones were thrust into their face, reporters practically jumping on top of themselves hurling question after question.

"Are you parents of Officer Hopps?"

"Where were you when you heard the news?"

"Are you afraid that she's dead?"

"What are you feeling right now?"

"Do you think she'll be found?"

The wife burst into terrified crying as she was overwhelmed by the sudden barrage. Her husband held her close to him as she wept, trying to shield her from the unwanted attention. He looked each one in the eyes with anger and disgust as his wife wailed into his shoulder.

"_Get away from my wife_!" The husband snarled at the reporters. Nick had never seen this side of Stuart Hopps as the rabbit looked prepared to attack all of them at once. The fox rushed over to get in between Judy's parents and the reporters harassing them.

"ZPD! Back up!" Nick commanded the reporters as he moved in to get Stu and Bonnie away from the hungry paparazzi. They turned their cameras to the cop, asking the same intrusive questions, shoving their microphones down his throat. "BACK UP!" He shouted as he whisked them under the caution tape. "They are with me." Nick said to a fellow cop as he escorted them behind a fire engine out of view of the reporters.

"Thank you, Nick…" Bonnie said, dabbing her eyes before hugging the fox. "It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Bonnie." Nick replied as he rubbed her back gently before letting her go.

"Nick…" Stu extended his paw out to shake Nick's. "Any word on Judy?" He squeezed Bonnie's shoulder as he asked about their daughter, both looking to Nick with anticipation.

"No… not yet…" Nick said morosely, Bonnie and Stu turned to each other engaging in a silent conversation.

"You look tired, have you been here all night?" Bonnie asked, looking over the fox as she spoke.

"Yeah…" Nick nodded earning him a concerned look from Judy's mother. They all jolted as a howl from one of the Sniffers rang out in the darkness. A group of police and firefighters rushed in to help with the excavation.

"Is it bad, Nick?" Stu asked turning back to look at Nick. A single dark look from Nick told Stu more than words would have been able to. Stu felt himself clutching his wife tighter, as is she might suddenly float away.

"_Oh, Stu_!" Bonnie clutched her face as a wolf from the Search and Rescue team emerged from the collapsed mall. He stepped carefully over the debris, cradled in his arm was a fawn with its arm swinging like a willow branch. The Search and Rescue team was known and respected for their ability to tackle some of the most difficult missions. They were renowned for their bravery and stoicism. But as Nick watched the wolf carry the child out of the rubble, he saw that maybe this mission was different.

"Let's get you out of here; I'll take you to the apartment." Nick said as he ushered the rabbits away from the mall. Bonnie nodded as she tried to stifle more tears. He took them under the caution tape, away from where the reporters were perched looking to feast on another bloody story.

Exhaustion finally hit Nick Wilde as he turned the key and opened the door to the apartment. The comforting arms of the home he shared with Judy welcomed him like a loyal friend. The house remained as it was when the two of them left together; it felt like it had been ages ago. Nick held the door for Bonnie and Stu as they walked in as well, Stu carrying a small suitcase. It was a long drive from Bunnyborrow to Zootopia, a round trip in one evening would have been more than the two rabbits could stay awake for.

"Take the bedroom; I can sleep on the couch." Nick said as the Hopps couple admired the apartment.

"I'm sorry we haven't visited more often." Bonnie said as she walked into the living room, taking in all the pictures.

"Don't worry about it, how long does it take to get here from Bunnyborrow?" Nick shrugged as he replied to Bonnie.

"About three-to-four hours." Stu replied as he carried the bag into the bedroom.

"How is Maria?" Bonnie asked as she reached the portrait of Nick and his mother at the ZPD graduation.

"Mom's good, old age is getting to her though." Nick said as he looked at the picture of his mother smiling back at him.

"She's not the only one." Bonnie muttered, trying to make sure her husband didn't hear her. "I've been trying to get Stu to the doctor to get his cholesterol checked out. '_What do they know_' he says." She shook her head in disapproval.

"Sounds like Judy…" Nick replied with a faint grin.

"I swear… the only thing Judy got from me was my eyes." Bonnie smiled back at the fox. "Nick…" Her face turned serious. "I just want to say…" She took a breath before continuing. "I know you are just as scared as we are. Even though I wish she were back in Bunnyburrow… knowing she has someone like you helps me sleep at night." Bonnie smiled. "I know how much you two care for each other. As far as I'm concerned, you're already part of the family, Nick. And we will be here for you… no matter what."

A single light from an overhead lamp glowed in the darkness as Nick sat on the couch. Every time he tried going to sleep, images of Judy trapped in the ruins of the mall flooded his mind. The wall clock ticked the seconds as they passed by. Another second that he didn't know what would become of Judy. Another second of imaging the worst things his mind to conjure, any one of the animals pulled out swapped with the rabbit. Nick clutched his head and squeezed his eyes as tight as he could, trying to purge the images out of his mind. 4:55, the numbers glowed at him as he looked at his phone. His ears picked up the shuffling of one of the rabbits in the bedroom.

"Not able to sleep either?" Stu asked with a yawn as he emerged through the door, walking to the kitchen sink.

"Cups are the second cabinet to the right of the fridge." Nick said as he watched Stu look around for a second before he grabbed a cup and poured himself some water.

"I can make coffee here in a minute." Nick offered as the alarm on his phone sounded, announcing that it was time for another day. "I forgot you got up this early."

"Yep! Those carrots don't farm themselves." Stu said after downing the glass. "When you get up at 5 A.M. for as long as I have, eventually you don't need an alarm anymore."

"How is the farm?" Nick asked as he stretched.

"Very good, Gideon won a baking competition at the county fair just recently, been getting orders coming in from all over the Tri-Burrows, which means buying more produce from us. You know, we could use an extra hand in the fields." Stu winked at Nick.

"I don't think I can work the fields the way you do." Nick dismissed the notion.

"Getting up at 5 is the hard part, Nick. The more you do it, the easier it gets." Stu replied.

"Is Bonnie still sleeping?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, you'll be fine though." Stu said as Nick went to the closet for a fresh uniform and made his way into the bathroom to shower.

He emerged into the living room, adjusting his tie. Stu was watching the morning news with the volume low to avoid disturbing Bonnie.

"They're saying at least 300 animals are confirmed dead… estimated 500 still missing…" Stu said as he watched the coverage. A chill descended down Nick's body as he thought about everyone that was still trapped in the mall, knowing time was running out to save them.

"I got to go." Nick said as he grabbed his hat. "If you need anything, call me."

"Nick, you be careful out there." Stu said as the fox walked out the door.


	9. Another Day

As Nick walked into the Zootopia Police Department, any animal looking at him would not have guessed he had been awake all night. Maybe it was the tenth cup of coffee, one of those energy shots, or the sheer adrenaline and terror that haunted him throughout the night. It was strange not walking into headquarters with Judy. It felt like he belonged on the other side of the doors, hustling ice pops next to the tram stop. Nick's aviators acted as a shield preventing others from seeing the weight of the world that was ready to crush him under the smallest of mistakes. The swagger was the same as it was the day he met the cute meter maid named Officer Hopps, strutting like he knew the world inside and out, knowing the ropes, and knowing how to play the game.

"Have they started yet?" Wilde called up to the reception desk. As much as Nick Wilde exuded a façade of defiance, Benjamin Clawhauser was the exemplification of Nick's internal hell. There were no doughnuts on his desk, no cereal, not even a morning coffee. He leaned against the desk like it was the only thing that could support him, paws holding his head as if his brain was about fly out of his skull.

"Huh…" Clawhauser drifted up to look at the fox walking through the lobby. "Wilde? I thought you were on leave?"

"Who needs a vacation?" Wilde shrugged, strutting past reception. Clawhauser looked down at him trying to see through Nick's sunglasses, wondering if the fox was suffering from some form of amnesia.

Sounds of chairs scraping across the floor and the murmur of the bullpen leaked through the doorway as Nick approached and pushed his way through the door.

"Settle down!" The booming voice of Chief Bogo as the briefing began. "Listen up… the mall collapse takes priority," The police chief paused for only a fraction of a second as he saw Officer Wilde entering. "Every other assignment can wait. We need as many officers at the Caribou Arcade as we can afford…" The Chief began assigning officers to crowd control, traffic direction, and assisting Search and Rescue. "As of this morning, Officer Hopps is still missing." Nick felt the eyes of his colleagues falling on him as Chief Bogo said her name."No doubt we are all concerned for her, but we still have a job to do, and that is to find Hopps, and everyone else who might be trapped. Let's get to work! Dismissed!" Everyone began filing out of the classroom except Officer Wilde.

"I thought I told you to take time off." Chief Bogo said as Wilde approached him.

"I can't, Chief. Not while she's still in there." Nick replied.

"In that case, take off your uniform…" Bogo said as he thumbed through a file.

"…and not buy me dinner? The _nerve_!" Wilde put a paw over his chest, putting on a feigned shock earning him what he saw as an amused snort from the Chief.

"Last I remember… you took down two mayors without even a badge." Bogo handed Wilde the folder. "I want you to find out what happened at the Arcade." Wilde looked up at the buffalo, his comedy routine coming to an end, replaced by a sense of purpose. Taking the folder from Bogo, Nick could feel relief as he finally had a way he could respond to the disaster other than standing at the caution tape like it was a widow's walk.

"Yes, sir!" Officer Wilde looked the Chief of Police with determination.

Nick changed out of his police uniform and into a white, button down collared shirt, striped tie, and navy blue slacks, tucking in his shirt as he walked out of the locker room. He could feel his old self fade back in as he walked through the hallway leading to the lobby.

"Clawhauser?" Wilde asked as he passed the break room, the cheetah sitting at a table in the corner.

"Wilde? What's with the wardrobe change?" Clawhauser asked as Nick walked toward him.

"Assignment from Bogo. A-Are you okay?" Wilde asked him, the normally perky and enthusiastic feline looked like he was about to fall apart at the seams. The look on Clawhauser's face was the same look he saw from hundreds of shell-shocked survivors and witnesses to the collapse at the mall.

"I'm just dealing with stuff." Clawhauser said with a hollow voice, his gaze drifting across the room.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Nick asked as he watched his colleague's expression.

"It's just…" Clawhauser started, his eyes looked like they were trying to try to get a look at his eyebrows. Nick listened as words jammed in the cheetah's throat like a car crash in rush hour traffic. "I've worked here for almost ten years… and… since I've been with the ZPD, we've never lost an officer. And… I guess… I guess I don't know how to handle it…" Clawhauser practically forcing each word out as he tried to articulate himself, each word a glacier slowly grinding down a mountain.

"Yeah…" Nick nodded in agreement, bubbles of his inner turmoil popping just below the surface of his cool persona.

"You think you can help me?" Wilde asked trying to change the subject, hopping onto the chair next to where Clawhauser sat.

"With what?" Clawhauser asked, eyes looking up confused at the fox as Nick laid the folder on the table.

"The Arcade collapse." Wilde watched as the cheetah shifted more in his chair, fidgeting with his fingers. Nick watched Benjamin's eyes trying to look at anything else but photos of the Caribou Arcade from the file the fox was looking through.

"I always had a bad feeling about that place." Clawhauser said, taking a deep sigh. "My brother said that place was going to be a death trap."

"What do you mean?" Wilde asked, a mixture of confusion and excitement brewed with the new lead unfolding before him.

"My brother works for one of the architects that designed the building. He didn't say much about it, but he would always talk about how the client kept trying to cut corners." Clawhauser tried recalling as Nick looked through the information in the file.

"Do… you think we can get meet with him?" Wilde asked hopefully.

"Well… now is not the best time…" The cheetah began moving uncomfortably again. "He's been taking care of my nephew."

"Is he okay?" Nick asked.

"He was in a car accident yesterday…" Clawhauser rubbed his face. "His legs are in bad shape."

"He's going to pull through, right?" Nick felt his heart sinking.

"They are taking him into surgery in the morning."There was a long pause as the vending machines hummed. Nick watched as the cheetah put his thumb and forefinger over his lips as if to seal them shut. "I'll talk to my brother and see what he can do."

Nick poured over the information contained in the file. There contained information about a raccoon who went by the name of Theodore Ringtail. He was listed as in his upper 40s, about as tall as Judy without the ears. He owned a company called Procyon Real Estate and supposedly made his money in the house-flipping and land redevelopment business.

"Wilde…" His concentration was broken by the sound of Benjamin Clawhauser.

"Yeah?" Wilde asked, shifting his focus to the cheetah.

"My brother told me to have you meet with his boss; he'd be able to help you." Clawhauser said as he put down his cell phone.

"Great!" Wilde said as he began gathering the information he had spread out on the table.

"He also said get a copy of the building plans that were approved by the city before meeting with the architect. He works in the Hillside Tower, Downtown, 40th Floor."

"Thanks! Hey, I hope he gets well soon!" Excitement built in his voice as he made for the hallway.


	10. According to Plan

With a newfound sense of determination and purpose, Officer Wilde walked through the doors of the Zootopia Police Department and through the plaza at the heart of Savanna Central. Directly across from the police station was the tall, gracefully sloping tower of the Zootopia City Hall. The white concrete building stood proudly over the animals milling about in the afternoon sun. The plaza was always crowded with commuters and the employees of the surrounding businesses, including the government workers at City Hall and the ZPD.

The cool air on the other side of the automatic doors chilled Nick as he walked into the stately building that housed the Mayor and many of the bureaucratic offices that served as the beating heart of the city.

"Welcome to the City of Zootopia, how may I assist you?" The cheery voice of the receptionist practically sang as Wilde approached her. She could have easily rivaled Clawhauser with her sugary exuberance.

"Well hello there, sunshine!" He smiled at her as he rested his paws on the counter. "Where can I get a copy of a building plan that has been approved by the city?" He tried to put on his best 'customer service' voice as if he was trying to best the receptionist in the professionalism game.

"Sir, that would be the Planning and Zoning Department…" She replied happily. "Take the elevator to the Sixth Floor, when you exit, you will want to follow the signs to the left."

"Thank you ever so much! You take care!" Wilde said softly, smiling the whole time.

"Anytime! Thank you for visiting!" The receptionist waved as he headed toward the elevators.

The open, airy, inviting lobby stood in contrast to the bland, austere Sixth Floor where the low murmur of footsteps and conversations were replaced by a quiet hum of florescent lights. Nick walked down the bleak hallway and through a door labeled 'Planning and Zoning'. Inside the small waiting area was a booth with a couple of employees behind a glass window opposite a couple chairs. One of the employees looked up and beckoned him over.

"What can we do for you today?" The honey badger asked, she was middle aged, slightly overweight, but pleasant nonetheless.

"Good afternoon, I am Officer Nicolas Wilde, ZPD." He said, showing her his badge that was attached to his belt. "Is it possible to get a copy of the building plans for the Caribou Arcade that were approved by the city?" He asked politely, but not hiding his authority.

"Of course, officer, take a seat and we will be right with you." The badger said as she directed him to one of the chairs before disappearing behind another door. Nick looked around the quiet room, listening to animals typing out of sight and telephones ringing.

"Officer?" The badger said as she emerged a few moments later, carrying a roll of building plans.

"Thank you so much." He said, taking the roll of paper and tucking it between his arm and torso.

Nick emerged from the subway station Downtown and gazed at the skyscrapers that marked the geographic center of the Zootopia Metropolitan Area. He walked down one of the busy streets toward Hillside Tower. The building looked as if it were carved out of stone, the Art Deco spire, sculptures, and window design accentuated the structure. Pushing through the revolving door, he entered a beautiful marble lobby, accented with gold trim.

40TH FLOOR – VAN DAMME ARCHITECTURE

"Good afternoon, sir." The receptionist greeted him as he stepped off the elevator. In front of him was a frosted glass curtain wall with the company's name etched in a stately-looking font.

"Good afternoon, I'm Officer Nicolas Wilde, ZPD; I'm here to meet with the architect." Nick said as he approached.

"I'll see if he's available…" The receptionist said as she picked up the phone. "Mr. Van Damme, there is a man by the name of Nicolas Wilde here to see you, he says he's with the ZPD… yes sir."

"Right this way, Officer Wilde." The slender doe rose from her chair and invited him through the doors of the office. Nick was directed to a small conference room as he passed rows of cubicles, each with an employee working on building plans for different projects around the city. "Mr. Van Damme will be with you in a minute, is there anything I can get you?" The doe asked.

"No, thank you." Nick said before the receptionist left.

"Officer Wilde, my name is Clark Van Damme, a pleasure to meet you." He said as the beaver entered the room, wearing a crisp, blue suit and carrying a roll of papers.

"Mr. Van Damme." Nick replied as they shook paws.

"I presume you're here to discuss the situation at the Caribou Arcade." He said a-matter-of-factly as he set his he unrolled his papers and took a seat across the table from the police officer. "Did you bring the approved plans from the city?"

"Yes, I have them right here." Nick said, pointing the roll of papers on the table, the architect unrolled them and laid them next to plans that he brought in.

"The client was a guy named Theodore Ringtail, with Procyon Real Estate. He approached us several years ago with the proposal to build the shopping mall." He said as he looked over the plans.

"I'm surprised at how well you remember all of that." Wilde watched the beaver.

"Of course, the Caribou Arcade was a big project for the company." The architect replied.

"Were there any issues with the project?" Wilde asked.

"Mr. Ringtail was a cheapskate, although, that's pretty common in our line of work." Van Damme said. "Every draft we sent him, he was always trying to get us to cut things here and there. Slimmer columns, a cheaper, lower quality concrete, the list goes on."

"But it did get built." Wilde said.

"Yes, but we had no hand in that." Van Damme said.

"What do you mean; your firm designed the Arcade." Wilde was confused by the beaver's statement.

"Mr. Ringtail fired us… said we were ripping him off, not delivering on what we promised, stuff like that." The architect examined the drawings closely. "Oh my…" He said suddenly.

"Did you find something?" Wilde asked.

"Come over here, it'll be easier for me to point them out to you…" Van Damme said as Nick got up and walked over to the other side of the table. "These are the plans designed by us…" The architect pointed to the stack of plan sheets to the left.

"Yeah?" Nick said.

"The plans on the right were the ones that were approved by the city…" The architect gestured to the other short stack of plans.

"What's the difference?" The fox asked.

"Okay… when you build any building, from a small cottage to this skyscraper, the building must have a support system to handle the weight of the occupants, and the building itself." The beaver gestured with his hands as he spoke.

"Okay…" Nick said as he was listening to the architect.

"On _our_ plans…" Van Damme tapped the sheets to his left. "Look at the size and positioning of the support columns…" Nick looked closely at the plans, noticing various circles on the drawing with dimensions labeling them.

"Okay…" Nick said.

"Now… look at the city-approved plans…" Nick moved to the other side of the beaver, looking at the same building floor plan, but with fewer, and smaller, circles.

"What does that mean?" Nick asked as he looked at the beaver.

"The support columns were not enough to handle the weight of this building." The beaver said, with no sense of humor, Nick watched as a sense of fury stirred in the architect.

"But these are the plans that were approved by the city, right?" Nick said, trying to understand what the beaver was saying.

"Mr. Wilde, these plans should _never_ have been approved!" Van Damme's statement stunned Nick as he tried to grasp what the architect was telling him.

"Then… how did the Arcade get built?" Nick scratched his head, looking at the beaver.

"This is only a guess, Officer…" Van Damme paused as he thought about his answer. "I think Mr. Ringtail paid someone off at the Planning Department. I have had building plans rejected by the city for _far_ less than this; there is _absolutely no way_ a mistake like this would have passed undetected." The two stared at each other in silence as the words sank in.

"Would the Mayor have been involved?" Nick thought quickly, trying to think of who might have allowed the plans to proceed with what the architect painted as a very obvious flaw.

"I doubt it…" Van Damme said firmly. "The Mayor wouldn't get involved in something like this; all he would have done would be to show up for the ribbon cutting."

"But… didn't the mall pass inspection a few days before the collapse?" Nick said, recalling some of the gossip in the police station.

"Code Enforcement might have been bought off, as well." Van Damme thought out loud. "That's just my speculation, of course…" He said, clarifying his remarks. "There would have been cracks and maintenance issues all over the mall. It would have been something that Code Enforcement would not be able to simply overlook." The architect tapped on the building plans, his finger landing on one of the circles representing the building columns."Mr. Wilde, there is no doubt in my mind… that mall was _going_ to come down."

"Clawhauser… It's Wilde." Nick said as he exited the architecture office and waited for the elevator.

"Can someone go to city hall and interview the Director of the Planning and Zoning Department… get someone to talk to Code Enforcement as well." Nick said into the phone.

"Ask them what they know about the Caribou Arcade…"

"I'm headed back to the station; I should be there in about 30 minutes." Nick ended the call as the soft _Ding!_ of the elevator chimed.

Nick picked up his cell phone as it rang, pushing through the revolving doors of Hillside Tower.

"Clawhauser?" Nick asked, putting the phone to his ear.

"The Planning Director wasn't there?"

"Think we can pay her a house visit?"

"Okay… got her address, I'm heading there right now…" Nick said as the call ended, walking quickly to the street and flagged down a taxi.

"Where can I take you?" The gruff voice of the bear cab driver said as he looked in the rear-view mirror at the fox.

"Belle Terrace, in Savanna South." Said Nick as he got in the car.

"You got it." The cabbie said as he pulled away from the curb.

Savanna South was a neighborhood that signaled the transition between the rundown Dock District and the polished, welcoming arms of Savanna Central. Old brownstones lined nearly every street as lower and middle-income residence made this area their home. The home of the Director of Planning and Zoning was in the northern section of Savanna South, on the fringes of Savanna Central. The taxi turned the corner and stopped on the street to let the cop out. After paying, Nick turned and looked at the address on the building, confirming that it was the home of the Director. Walking in, he smelled a clean flowery scent as he walked up the stairs to the second floor where she lived. He walked down the corridor of the apartment building casually. It was going to be a simple interview, nothing out of the ordinary… except…

"Clawhauser… It's Wilde… send some back-up to the Planning Director's residence, something doesn't feel right."

He walked up to find the door the Director's apartment ajar, a sliver of light shining through the crack between the door and the frame.

"Ms. Grazer?" Nick said loudly as he tapped on the door before pushing it open with his paw. "Ms. Grazer, this is Officer Wilde with the ZPD, can I come in?" He said again as he looked inside the apartment. The unit was larger than Nick and Judy's, a three bedroom, and looked clean. Bright light flooded through the window on the other side of the apartment. The glitter of broken glass dotted the floor as Nick saw the shattered coffee table in the living room. The cop cautiously stepped inside, one slow step at a time.

"ZPD! Ms. Grazer, are you okay?" He called out to the quiet apartment. Nick approached the broken table and crouched for a closer look. In the middle of where the table would have been, was a broken wine bottle, with dried red wine staining the carpet. As he examined the scene, the glow of a light from the other side of one of the bedroom doors danced in his eye. Nick stood up and stepped gently toward the bedroom, careful to not step on any broken glass or any potential evidence.

"Ms. Grazer?" Wilde tapped on the door before pushing it open. As the door creaked, it revealed a pair of legs extending out of the bathroom. A loud thumping echoed in his chest as he approached cautiously, getting closer the light coming out of the bathroom. "_Oh, no…_" Nick's ears fell to the side of his head as his eyes fell on the dead antelope that was Ms. Grazer. His paw rubbing the side of his face as he looked at the middle-aged woman sprawled out on the floor, an empty pill bottle knocked over on the counter.


	11. Dream?

"Where you able to get a hold of the person in charge at Code Enforcement?" Nick asked Clawhauser as the fox reentered the Zootopia Police Department.

"They weren't there." Clawhauser replied as Nick approached him.

"What about their house?" Nick asked.

"Not there either…" Clawhauser said.

"So… we have two city officials…" Nick said out loud to the cheetah who watched him. "One who is dead… and one who is unaccounted for…"

"Chief already put out an A.P.B. on the Director of Code Enforcement." Clawhauser said. "He did that as soon as you reported that Ms. Grazer was dead."

"What do we know about her?" Nick asked as he watched Clawhauser pull out a file and open it.

"Let's see… Molly Grazer… 48… Ms. Grazer and her husband divorced about ten years ago. Apparently it was an ugly court battle, too." Clawhauser read off. "The judge would not grant her custody of their kids because of her untreated depression."

"Depression?" Nick asked.

"Her co-workers said she was involuntarily committed to the psychiatric hospital after the judge's ruling. They said she tried to hurt herself." Clawhauser said as he turned to look at Wilde, concern etched in his face.

"That was about the same time the Caribou Arcade was being built, right?" Nick asked, looking through the file with Clawhauser.

"Yeah… and between the divorce, custody battle, and the hospitalization, Ms. Grazer was heavily in debt…" Clawhauser continued.

"Can we get a copy of her bank records during that time?" Wilde asked.

"We put in a subpoena request with the District Attorney's Office; we're still waiting for them to respond." Clawhauser replied.

"…and we won't hear anything from the Coroner's office until sometime tomorrow?" Nick asked.

"…or the day after." Clawhauser said.

"What about Theodore Ringtail? Do we have anything on him?"

"Not yet, we're still trying to track him down. His home address on file is fake; it's just a vacant lot in the Rainforest District." Nick looked up as Clawhauser spoke and watched Officer Pennington push through the revolving door. The elephant was covered head to toe in dirt, with various cuts all over her arms that were visible to the fox. All of Nick's thoughts about the case at hand vanished from his mind as he rushed over to her.

"Pennington!" He called out as he caught up to her, causing her to look around before catching him approach her. Pennington's eyes were heavy with exhaustion; Nick could see where tears carved rivers down her dirt caked face.

"Wilde?" She croaked while trying to clean the dust and grime off of her face.

"Pennington… you were down at the Arcade, right?" Nick asked hopefully.

_Mmhmm…_ Pennington said as she looked away quickly, scanning the lobby as her fellow cops walked by.

"Any word on Hopps?" Wilde stepped closer to the elephant, trying to look into her eyes for the answer. All she could do was give a quick head shake before trying to walk away.

"What's going on down there?" He asked as he followed her.

"I… I can't talk about it…" Pennington said quickly with her head turned away from Wilde.

"_Please_…" Wilde felt his voice beg as he looked at the massive elephant. "I need to know something…"

"The… the Fire Department has been trying to put out fires…" Officer Pennington started. "…cause some of the cars… the cars caught fire in the parking deck…" She struggled to say, trying to get out of the lobby toward the offices.

"Yeah… and?" Nick asked as he felt himself growing impatient listening to her talking.

"Well…" Pennington rubbed her eyes quickly. "well… the water from the hoses… and the pipes…" She took several deep breaths as she tried to shield her face from anyone who might see her.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked, furrowing his brow.

"They're drowning, Nick…" Pennington turned again to look at Nick, fresh tears flowing down her face. "The parking decks are flooding…" Her chest heaved as tears began falling like a summer thunderstorm. "the ones trapped in the parking decks are being drowned…" She said before trying to stifle intense sobbing. "I gotta go…" Pennington said quickly before disappearing into the offices.

Nick stood in the hallway, feeling like he had fallen into a bad dream. He felt like he couldn't exhale as he looked around, wanting to go back to first meeting the starry-eyed do-gooder Officer Hopps. He wanted things back the way they were. That couldn't be true. There was no way she could be trapped down there. Something like that couldn't be happening. His jaw slacked open as his eyes darted around as if he were following a fly around the room. It didn't make sense… none of this made sense. What he wouldn't give to have her touch his arm as she had that night in the Rainforest District. Wanting to feel like she had reached inside him and demolished the barriers he had built so long ago.

"What I said was: _No_… She will not be giving you that badge." As he watched Officer Judy Hopps getting ready to surrender the one thing she worked so hard for, he saw the young Nicolas Wilde being restrained by the kids from the Ranger Scouts. He felt the straps of the muzzle being forced on to him as Judy was about to remove her police badge. It was in impulse, if he had heard the day before that the first rabbit police officer resigned from her job at the Zootopia Police Department, he probably wouldn't care one bit. But here he was, soaking wet, tired, adrenaline still being forced through him after being chased by Mr. Manchas, defending Judy Hopps from the Chief of Police… of all the people to talk down to.

_Never let them see that they get to you_. No one ever caught on, but for the briefest of moments, watching the confrontation between Chief Bogo and Officer Hopps _did_ get to him. After all the years of being treated as a shifty con-artist, he saw someone walking in his shoes. A rabbit, predestined to live her life as a carrot farmer, who just wanted to be a police officer, forced to solve a case using only a single piece of paper and a go-kart she couldn't take on the freeway. The deck was stacked against her, just as his whole life was stacked against him. And as the gondola soared above the canopy of the Rainforest District, and the radiant light was washing the Zootopia skyline in a blindingly beautiful sunrise, he felt a paw rest on his arm. He heard her voice say: _"You are so much more than that…"_ He felt a warmth he hadn't felt before. A feeling he hadn't had since the day his mother surprised him with his Ranger Scouts uniform. He wasn't going to admit it, but on the gondola, watching the city coming to life underneath them, the sunlight reflecting off the windows of the distant skyscrapers, he knew he loved her.

Standing in the hallway of the police station, he felt her slipping away like she was a mirage in the desert. Reaching out to touch her, only for her to fade away like a cloud of mist. Judy was the first animal to see him as something other than what society had expected of him. Nick was losing her, every minute that passed by with her trapped in the mall he felt Judy slipping through his fingers. Any moment, Nick was going to wake up in a lawn chair under a bridge and start another day of selling Pawpsicles with Finnick. It was a really good dream, to think he _really_ was a cop.

"Wilde? _Wilde!_" A voice said as he was snapped out of his trance, the memory of being with Judy on the gondola vanishing as he looked at Clawhauser. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah… yeah… everything's fine." Nick struggled to regain his calm, cool exterior. He felt naked in that moment, like Clawhauser was able to see right into his thoughts. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said before changing back into his police uniform.

_They're drowning, Nick…_ Officer Pennington's voice rang in his head as he walked out of the police station. Nick's mind conjured a nonstop barrage of images; all of them of Judy, pinned under a concrete slab, clinging to life as cars in the parking garage burned, trying to keep her head above water as it flooded in. He tried to shake those images off, but was instead confronted with Judy, being burned alive as gasoline and oil spilled out of crushed vehicles.

He leaned against the door of the car as he drove, his paw raking his head while trying to focus on the road and not on Judy lying under tons of concrete and steel. The interior of the car was silent, Nick didn't even bother turning on the radio. Everyone around him were carrying on with their lives, not having to worry about their fiancée, knowing their loved ones were safe at work, or home enjoying a warm dinner. Guilt smothered him like a wet blanket. He should be down there, digging through the rubble. If he _really_ loved her he wouldn't be driving back to the apartment where Judy's parents were holding their vigil.


	12. Nightmare

He turned the key to his apartment, opening the front door to be greeted by the sights and smells of a Hopps family buffet before him. Everything from a salad made with various grasses, to sweet potatoes, broccoli, peppers, squash, and both an apple and blueberry pie.

"What's all this?" Nick said in awe of the spread laid out before him.

"Is it too much?" Bonnie asked as she was pulling roasted vegetables out of the oven.

"Well… no…" Nick struggled not sound ungrateful. "I'm flattered really… but this is more than what Judy and I eat in a month…" He said as he was mesmerized by the feast before him.

"It's hard to cook small portions, at the farm there are usually thirty of us on any given night." Bonnie said casually while working in the kitchen.

"_She cooks when she's nervous_." Stu leaned in as Nick sat down on the couch. "_The news… almost 500 dead… she's been in a state ever since."_

"That's okay, I'm sure Clawhauser would go to town on one of those pies." Nick said as he looked at the food that awaited him.

"Well, whatcha waiting for? Get it before it gets cold!" Mrs. Hopps waved them over.

"I haven't had cooking like this in a long time." Nick complemented as he made himself a plate, skipping the grass salad.

"Because you haven't been to the farm in a long time." Bonnie winked as she watched Nick and Stu scooping food onto their plates. "Don't worry, Nick, I didn't clean out your cupboards."

"I'm really flattered." Nick said. The aromas provided him much needed comfort, a welcomed light in the middle of their darkness. The food was incredible, Nick couldn't remember the last time he and Judy didn't eat something that wasn't prepackaged, or came through a window of a fast food joint.

"Making the world a better place?" Stu asked as he stuffed a fork full of grass salad into his mouth.

_Hmmph!_ "Always!" Nick smirked between chews of the roasted vegetables. "How many grandkids do you have now?"

"1,544." Stu said without looking up from his plate. A sudden sputtering erupted from the table as Nick nearly choked on a chunk of sweet potato.

"How do you buy presents for all of them?" Nick said through fits of coughing, rubbing tears that had involuntarily formed in his eyes.

"We don't." Stu said flatly. "That's why we always have big dinners; it's always someone's birthday or anniversary."

"If we bought presents for every birthday, we'd be broke by the end of the week." Bonnie gave a soft chuckle. It was something Nick had a hard time trying to figure out, he always got something on his birthday, even if it was something as small as a pack of playing cards.

"I never knew you all didn't exchange gifts." The fox said with an air of bewilderment still lingering over him.

"None of us rabbits do." Stu said. "Except, maybe, between a rabbit and a fox." He nudged Nick jokingly.

"Nick…" The fox looked up suddenly in response to Bonnie's change in inflection. "Are they going to find her?" Her violet eyes, the same eyes that were passed down to her daughter, stared back at him as they swam, tears ready escape any second.

"Of course!" Nick tried as hard as he could to put on a reassuring face. "The Sniffers will find anyone. They've been able to find animals lost for three weeks." The table was quiet except for the scraping of silverware on plates.

"I can't wait three weeks…" Bonnie's voice trailed as her lips quivered. "…Excuse me…" She said quickly as she rushed to the bedroom.

"Bonnie!" Nick called after her. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Nick, she's just stressed." Stu gave Nick a comforting pat on the shoulder. "We all are."

"Yeah… I know…" Nick said, looking down at his food, suddenly losing his appetite.

He could smell the fresh farm air as he stared longingly at the portrait of Nick and Judy at the Hopps' farm as he lay on the couch. The warm spring sunlight warming his fur as sweat dripped down his back underneath his shirt. There was never a happier moment than the moment he dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. Even as he lay on the couch in the darkness of the apartment they shared, the joy of that day warmed him. He reached out to try to touch the portrait, but it was just barely out of reach. Just a couple of inches away from touching the image of Judy's leg, it wouldn't have compared to having her back home and resting in bed, but for now it had to do. He stared at the picture for hours, always looking at the face of the rabbit who convinced him to become a police officer. He felt himself replaying their life together, from the proposal to moving in together, to the day she got shot, and the night he confessed that he might not be able to live without her. Finally, he replayed the car chase, and the last time he saw her, launching herself out of the car and disappearing into the shopping mall. He felt his eyes growing heavy as he saw the tail of Judy Hopps disappearing behind the door, and he finally fell asleep.

Nick looked around, trying to figure out where he was. Florescent lights flickered and sputtered as live wires unleashed a shower of sparks. In the brief flashes of light, he made out a corridor. Cracked concrete, chipped and broken porcelain tiles echoed under his feet as he shuffled carefully down the poorly lit hall. The acrid air smothered him with smoke, burning wires, and a distant smell of gasoline. Looking up, he saw pipes, ducts, and wiring of the ceiling where tiles had broke free. He shielded his eyes as one of the wires ignited, sending sparks down onto him. In the flashes of light, he saw where the concrete from the ceiling above him had buckled and nearly cut off the hallway he walked through. With every flash, he was able to see clothes racks, and shelves with toppled and destroyed merchandise on the floor above him. In the distance, his ears picked up a distant howl, and a rumble that caused dust to rain down like snow. Nick stepped slowly across the broken and uneven floor, being careful not to trip on the cracks.

He fumbled in the darkness until he reached a concrete slab blocking his path. Nick crouched and crawled along the corridor, his paws feeling the wet floor as he tried not to hyperventilate in the tight space. Reached a larger space, he was able to stand up, still shuffling forward, listening to the tinkling of broken glass and porcelain beneath his feet as he persevered in the darkness. He reached out to the wall for guidance in the darkness, only to feel something soft under his paw. The florescent lights and wires sparked violently and revealed the corridor ahead of him.

Bodies. Nick's eyes widened in horror as several bodies lay sprawling in the hallway. He looked over and followed his arm as it reached out… touching something… something black.

Nick recoiled as he let out a sharp cry that echoed through the corridor. He backed away as far as he could until he stumbled over a chunk of concrete. Lights flickered more and Nick saw the face of a jaguar with black fur, red shirt, and denim shorts, slumped against the wall. Nick felt himself panting and gasping for air, his breathing echoing through the hallway as he tried to control himself. He turned toward a junction in the corridor, and with each slow, careful step, he slid his body along the wall in fear of touching another animal.

He found more light as he reached the junction. Looking to the left, he saw more bodies laying on the floor, more crushed concrete, and more debris littering the hall. A soft trickle of water echoed as streams poured form broken pipes in the ceiling. To the right, was a staircase under a sign that read 'PARKING' with an arrow pointing downward. Water flowed across the floor toward the staircase, underneath more sparks from wires.

_"Nick!"_ The fox snapped up to listen, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. He tried to hear the voice again from the direction of the stairs.

"_Nick!_" The voice screamed again. He felt his spine freeze as he listened to the voice scream in agony.

"Judy?" He said under his breath as he felt himself walking toward the stairs. Relief and terror stirred inside him as he walked toward the stairs.

"_Nick!"_ Despite his rapid breathing, Nick felt like he was suffocating. Each breath felt more like a plastic bag wrapping tighter around his muzzle.

"Judy!" He called out toward the stairs as he got closer to them, passing under a shower of water from another broken pipe.

"_Nick!... I can't…"_ He heard her screaming from the lower level, out of view of the fox. "_It hurts, Nick!"_ His stomach churned listening to her; he could hear her crying as he descended the stairs and entered the underground parking lot. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw dozens of crushed cars. Concrete slabs rested upon the cars, some with clothes racks, furniture, and other merchandise leaning precariously on one another. The smell of gasoline flooded his airway as he stepped carefully forward, trying to avoid looking at more bodies that were trapped in cars, or resting on the slabs that had turned the vehicles into pancakes.

"Judy?" Nick called out to the wrecked parking level. He didn't see any trace of her as he scanned the area, some of the cars were smoking, and a smaller handful Nick could see flames dancing from the engine compartment.

_"Nick!"_ She screamed. Nick started toward where the voice was coming from, being careful to step over debris. He squeezed his way around destroyed cars and around columns that had snapped under the weight of the building. Sharp pieces of metal cut through his clothes as he tried to get through, turning a corner to where a ramp was to the lower levels of the parking garage.

There she was.

"Judy!" He cried.

She was lying on the concrete floor of the parking lot; a slab of the ceiling was lying on top of her. He took a step forward, met with a rumble as dust became unsettled and rained down. Gasoline leaked from one of the nearby cars.

"Judy!" Nick croaked as he got to her, grabbing her paw. "Judy… I'm so sorry… I should have stopped you…"

"It hurts, Nick…" She sobbed as she opened her eyes to look at him. "I can't feel my legs…"

"I'm going to get you out… I promise. I'm not going to leave you!" He said as he let go of her paw. Nick grabbed a corner of the concrete slab and tried to lift it. The fox's screams rang through the parking lot as the slab remained unmoving. He paused as he felt a more violent rumble shake the crushed concrete and cars that surrounded him.

"Nick…" Judy whimpered. "I'm sorry…"

"I'm not going to leave you here!" Nick couldn't hide the desperation in his voice as he tried to find a way to get Judy free. He strained his muscles as he tried to lift the concrete that had Judy pinned. Again and again, and again, he lifted until his body gave out. Each time the ceiling remained on top of the rabbit. Tears of anguish, and of exhaustion, began running down his face as his ears picked up a rumbling sound. He turned to where he came from and listened to the sound of the rumbling growing louder.

A torrent of water gushed into the parking garage from where Nick had entered. The flash flood washed over debris, spilling into and over cars that were crushed. Nick desperately tried pulling the concrete off of Judy as cold water rushed over his feet. He listened as she coughed and sputtered as she lay pinned. In a last ditch effort, he grabbed her arms and tried pulling her from underneath the slab. Judy let out a painful, ear splitting scream as he tugged her with all of his might. Nick wanted to vomit listening to her shrieking and begging him to stop.

Nick was knocked off of his feet and dragged away by a sudden current in the water. He picked himself up and tried wading through the rapids, trying to get back to the ears that poked out through the torrent of water. It was up to his waist now as he fought against the water, seeing her ears and paws grasping barely above the water.

"Judy!" Nick screamed out as she disappeared under river of water that flooded the parking level. He tried pulling himself against the current of the water. With every inch he got toward her, the current pushed him three inches way.

He couldn't see where he was stepping. All of a sudden, he sank underneath the torrent of water. He couldn't see, didn't know up from down as he was being dragged with the current. He quickly grabbed onto a thick cable that was used to prevent cars from driving over the edge of the parking level. Nick gasped and sputtered as his head broke the surface, water splashing against his face as he choked on the water. He pulled himself along the cable to where he last saw Judy.

"Judy!" He tried to scream over the deafening roar of the water. Nick climbed along the cable as if he were scaling a sheer cliff. The water pushing against him as it tried to pull him away.

"Judy!" Nick screamed louder until it felt like his vocal cords were rupturing. He searched around as the water rushed over him, choking him, and trying to pull him down. He gasped as fought against the water and his own exhaustion.

"Judy!" His throat grew tight as he desperately screamed as his voice gave out, still frantically pulling himself against the current.

"_Nick…"_

"_Nick…"_ An older voice called to his ear.

He felt something shake his shoulder. "_Nick!"_

The fox awoke covered head to toe in sweat. His breathing was still as rapid as it was when he was dreaming. Bonnie looked down at him, wearing a silk bathrobe, looking at him the way he was looking at Judy under the slab of concrete.

"Nick? Are you okay?" Bonnie whispered while her eyes were still wide in alarm.

_Mm-hmmm_… Nick nodded his head as he tried to calm himself down. "Yeah… I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It sounded like you were crying…" Bonnie said. "…and you're covered in sweat…" Mrs. Hopps felt his forehead.

"I'm fine… I'm sorry I woke you." Nick said as he rubbed his own face.

"Okay… Let me know if you need anything, dear." She said softy before going back into the bedroom. After she closed the bedroom door, Nick turned his body so he was facing the back of the couch. He wedged his face as far as he could into the between the couch cushion, and the back of the couch. Nick clutched the cushion tightly, holding it as if his life depended on it, afraid to go back to sleep.


	13. An Afternoon in Tundratown

The police scanner squawked as Nick crept through the morning rush hour. It was an aftermarket install so the two of them could get a leg up on any surprises that might greet them when Nick and Judy walked through the doors of the ZPD. So far, there was an overturned truck in the Rainforest District, possible assault in the Dock District, and a handful of fender benders scattered across the city. The traffic in Savanna Central was thrown into chaos following the collapse of the Caribou Arcade, with some of the busiest arteries closed off as the search and rescue effort continued into the second full day. Nick sat in the gridlocked mess, inching forward just slightly to give him some hope that there would be a sudden release of the congestion.

As he waited for a traffic light, Nick found himself staring at the condensation dripping out of the exhaust pipe of the car in front of him. He watched as the water drops hit the asphalt, reminded of last night's nightmare. The trickling water still ringing fresh in his mind, Judy's screaming still piercing his ears. Nick couldn't bring himself to look either of her parents in the eye as he was getting ready for another day. Not really sure why, and as he thought about it in the car, the more foolish he felt. Just a dream, right?

He walked into the police department, like he normally did. He got his coffee, like he always did, and sat down at his desk. He pressed the power button on the work computer and waited for the ancient looking machine to load up. On the opposite end of the cubicle, was another computer, surrounded by pictures of the Hopps family. The chair was empty, the monitor was black, no one to banter with as his machine churned and whirred to life. Instead, just dozens of memos taped to the wall, occasionally waving from the wake of a passing rhinoceros. Nick entered the password to his computer and began sifting through work e-mails. So far, nothing from the Coroner's Office, nor anything from the District Attorney's Office as of yet.

He began looking through records on the developer, Theodore Ringtail. A number of outstanding parking tickets popped up under his name, as well as a bench warrant for a speeding ticket. Nick clicked on the information for the speeding violation and saw a photo of a beat up looking sports car. The time stamp was dated over three months ago, the photo was taken from a speed camera on the 48 Freeway at the Ursula Bearington Tunnel headed toward the Rainforest District from Tundratown.

On a hunch, Nick researched the company owned by Ringtail. The business license for Procyon Real Estate listed the address as 70 Cold Harbor Plaza, Suite 106, Tundratown. He scribbled the address on a sticky note and looked up the directions to the address.

"Officer Wilde?" Nick turned around to acknowledge a courier. "I was told this was a rush from the D.A.'s Office. Sign here, please." The fox signed as the courier pulled out a secured manila envelope and handed it to Nick.

"Thank you." Nick said as he examined the package.

DISTRICT COURT OF ZOOTOPIA

SUBPOENA FOR FINANCIAL RECORDS

Nick read through the first document, and made a mental note to begin collecting the bank records for Molly Grazer. He found a sense of relief that he wouldn't have to wait any longer. Skimming the rest of the document, his eyes started to blur trying to understand the legal jargon contained within the subpoena.

DISTRICT COURT OF ZOOTOPIA

WARRANT FOR ARREST

The second set of documents contained the arrest warrant for Theodore Ringtail. The District Attorney was moving forward with charging him with criminal negligence and involuntary manslaughter, just to name the charges on the first page. Every involuntary manslaughter charge had the name of a victim, hundreds of them. He was horrified as he flipped through the nearly 600 pages, each with a name, each a victim of the collapse. He let the stack of papers come to rest as he stared at it aghast what he had read. Nick handed the documents to Chief Bogo and went to sign out one of the unmarked police cars.

Nick's destination was Tundratown, and the address of Procyon Real Estate. Cars around him dropped their speed as the unmarked car cruised down the freeway. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at all of them. As soon as they get out of sight, they'll be back to their old ways, flying down the road like they were on a race track. Nick knew it, they knew it. He the dispatch radio chirped and squawked as the downtown skyline shrinking in the rearview mirror. The hills rose up around him as the freeway snaked through the steep valley, coming around a curve and looking into the mouth of one of the city's tunnels. On the opposite end of the tunnel was the snow-covered landscape of Tundratown. Nick flicked the windshield wipers on as snow generated from the climate wall fell to the ground.

Double-checking the address again, Nick pulled into the parking lot of a small strip mall in Fisherman's Wharf. Grabbing a jacket he tossed into the passenger seat, Nick popped the door and stepped out into the cold, shivering as he put on the jacket. The building itself looked like any other strip mall in the city. Reaching a door under stick-on numbers for Suite 106, Nick tried to open the door, but was met with a locked door. He took a flashlight and shined it through the glass.

Empty.

However, the flashlight did reveal the outline of letters that appear to have been scraped off of the door. The address was correct, and as his flashlight showed, this was the former location of Procyon Real Estate.

He tried the door again, if he jiggled the handle enough, maybe the door will unlock itself. Feeling disappointed, Nick kicked a mound of snow as he walked back to the car. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall creature walking toward him. Wearing a clean, black suit, and about four times taller than Nick, the polar bear approached him from a black executive car.

"Raymond?" Nick said in a half-guess, half-greeting as he came into full view. "Moving up in the world, I see." He added jokingly. The polar bear did not look amused as he beckoned Nick into the executive car.

"I'll follow you, if you don't mind. Not a fan of the refrigerated cars." Nick said casually, pointing to the car behind him before Raymond grunted loudly before grabbing the fox by the waist and carrying him to his car.

"All you had to do was ask _nicely_…" Nick said sarcastically as his limbs dangled.

Nick found himself escorted into the office of Mr. Big's manor by Raymond. The polar bear wasn't a great conversationalist, instead giving orders with a series of gestures and grunts. Nick waited in silence, looking around, eyes falling on the portrait of Mr. Big's gran-mama. Next to that, was the portrait of Fru-Fru and her husband at the wedding Nick and Judy were unexpectedly invited. Below that was a pair of photos, one of Fru-Fru, her husband, and Mr. Big with Fru-Fru's newborn daughter. The next portrait was of Fru-Fru, and the two Judy's at the desk that Nick was facing while waiting for the arrival of Mr. Big.

The thunderous footsteps of Mr. Big's entourage echoed in the stairway as the polar bears entered the room. The last one to enter, nicknamed 'The Deacon' by the fox, entered the room and took a seat behind the desk. He slid his paws across the desk, unclasping them to reveal a small swiveling chair. The Deacon turned it around by the nail of his paw, bringing Nick face-to-face with the Arctic shrew, named Mr. Big.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Nicky?" Came the raspy voice of Mr. Big as he watched Nick from the chair. "Not here to sell me a rug, are you?"

"No sir, I have left the rug-making business." Nick replied trying to sound casual, not sure how to take the question.

"That's a good thing." Said Mr. Big. "Home décor was never really your thing."

"I learned my lesson, thanks to you." Nick grinned uncomfortably as the day he almost got _iced_ flashed through his mind. "And how is your granddaughter?"

"Doing well, doing well. She's just like her mother." The shrew sighed contently. "So, what brought you to Tundratown?"

"I was just looking for someone." Nick said.

"And that someone is a tenant in my building?" Mr. Big asked as he examined his nails.

"Not anymore by the looks of things." Nick said.

"Who exactly are you looking for?" Mr. Big asked, his eyebrows shifting, indicating that he was looking at the fox.

"This guy." Nick pulled out the photograph of the raccoon. "His name is Theodore Ringtail."

"Bring it closer…" Mr. Big said as he leaned forward in his chair. Nick stepped closer to the desk as he requested.

_Hooyyyyckkkk!_ "I should ice you just for mentioning his name." Mr. Big said after spitting angrily at the picture. Nick felt himself shifting uncomfortably as he stood on the rug that concealed a certain trap door. "Why is he so important to you?"

"You've heard about the Caribou Arcade collapse, right?" Mr. Big nodded before Nick continued. "And you know that Judy was in there when it collapsed?" Mr. Big was silent as he watched Nick.

"This Ringtail guy was the developer behind the Caribou Arcade."

There was a long silence the seemed to drag on for eons. Mr. Big turned in his chair to gaze at the portrait of his daughter and granddaughter with Judy Hopps. The silence was only broken by the soft squeak of the shrew's chair.

"Did she make it out alive?" Mr. Big asked quietly, still focused on the portrait.

"I… I don't know…" Nick felt himself faltering, his eyes drifting down to the floor as he swallowed. He let out a breath as he tried to restrain his mind from going back to Judy underneath a concrete slab. Out the corner of his eye, he saw The Deacon crossing himself quietly.

"Did he have something to do with that mall collapsing, Nicky?" Mr. Big turned his head slightly, still facing the portrait, sternness growing in his voice.

"Yes."

There was another long pause, Nick watched as Mr. Big looked like he was chewing on a large gumball.

"If it weren't for that bunny, I wouldn't have my daughter and granddaughter here with me today." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Every time I hold my granddaughter, I think about how I could never repay that bunny for what she did for my family. I'm in debt to her, Nicky, and everything I own would still not be enough to repay her."

Nick only nodded in agreement as there was another prolonged silence.

"He and I were supposed to do business together. Ringtail asked me to be a silent partner for some of his real estate projects." Mr. Big said.

"Was one of those the Arcade?" Nick asked.

"He never said, I never asked." The shrew said firmly. "All I know is when it was time to pay what he owed; he was nowhere to be found."

"Would you happen to know where he lives?" Nick asked.

"Have you checked the landfill?"

"Uhhh…" Nick was thrown off by Mr. Big's question.

"I don't know where he lives. All I know is that he rented a unit in the building you visited, eventually, he stopped paying rent and vanished."

"When did he vanish?" Nick asked.

"About six months ago, I believe. Raymond here went by to… pay him a _visit." _Nick felt himself gulping awkwardly. "Nobody was there."

"I need to find him." Nick said, largely to himself.

"I'm sorry Nicky, but I don't know anything more." Mr. Big said. "I just hope you find him before _I do_." Mr. Big jabbed at himself with his finger threateningly. Nick didn't have to waste any time trying to guess what he meant.


	14. Follow the Lead

Nick rubbed his neck as he walked into the Zootopia Police Department through the entrance to the parking lot. His body was still smarting after being unceremoniously tossed out of the car by Raymond following the meeting and subsequent lunch with Mr. Big. Thankfully his jacket shielded his clothes from too many slush stains. Nick walked past the empty reception desk and toward the hall for the locker rooms to change into some cleaner clothes.

"Clawhauser?" Nick said aloud as he walked past the break room. The cheetah looked even worse than he did the previous day, sitting in the far corner of the break room and slumped against the wall. His eyes blinked listlessly as the sunlight filtered through the blinds onto his face.

"Clawhauser… are you okay?" Clawhauser seemed to barely register Nick's concern as he continued to look through the thin slivers between the cheap venetian blinds.

"I had to tell my nephew his best friend died." Clawhauser said quietly as he sniffed, rubbing his face quickly in a futile attempt to clear away the redness in his eyes. It was like walking into a glass door. All the momentum that Nick had was drained out of him. Nick found himself reaching for a nearby chair as if he might fall over.

"H-How old was he?" It was the first thing that Nick could thing to say as he tried to regain his breath.

"He turned eighteen in March." Clawhauser replied. "He was going to graduate high school this year."

Nick struggled to find any words as his eyes darted around. "How long did they know each other?" Nick asked.

"Second grade." The cheetah croaked.

"I'm sorry... how is your nephew doing?"

"He's got enough pins and wires in his legs to rig a marionette, and his friend is dead, so not very well." Clawhauser said with a hint of incredulity, his eyes narrowing just slightly. A cold wave rushed over the fox, tingling trickled down his spine as he listened. Nick hopped onto the chair next to Clawhauser. The cheetah had his wallet on the table, pictures of his family laid out in front of him. Nick found himself transfixed by a photo of Benjamin Clawhauser, and next to him, in a Ranger Scout uniform was a young Jason Clawhauser. Nick grabbed his head as it sank, stroking the fur on his head as it dawned on him that Clawhauser's nephew and Jason who was pinned in a car were the same creature.

"_Jason…_" Nick said just above a whisper as he absorbed the photo.

"Yeah." Clawhauser said as Nick mentioned his name.

"I was there…" Nick said as he cleared his throat. "when he was pulled out of the car. Right before the mall collapsed."

"He told me." Clawhauser replied.

"…And about the chase?" Nick asked cautiously, watching Clawhauser nod in response.

"They didn't deserve this." Nick said as shame started to set in.

"I know…" Clawhauser said, trailing off and stopping himself from saying anything more.

"I'm sorry…" Wilde felt like he should have said more as he kicked himself for not saying anything more heartfelt.

"I think Johnson has some information for you." Clawhauser said as he went back to gazing out the window. Even though it was obvious Clawhauser wanted to be alone, Nick couldn't help but feel guilty for just walking away. He gave the cheetah a supportive pat on the shoulder in a futile attempt to offer something more than an 'I'm sorry' before hopping down from the chair. As Nick walked out of the break room, the motion sensing lights turned off, plunging the cheetah into darkness.

Nick made the short trek down the hall to the offices to look for Officer Johnson. The lion was sitting in his cubicle, filling out reports on his computer.

"Heard you got something for me, Johnson?" Nick said as he approached the lion, his mane flowing in the wind as he turned around to see who was calling him.

"Wilde, how's it going?" Johnson said. Nick replied with a shrug as he leaned against the wall of Johnson's cubicle.

"We got the Coroner's report this afternoon." Johnson said.

"Anything useful?" Nick asked as he watched the lion turn to grab one of the files on his desk.

"The Coroner is ruling Molly Grazer's death a suicide." Johnson said.

"I had a feeling…" Nick said as he recalled finding her body sprawled out on the floor. "Overdose?"

"Yeah, her antidepressant medication, coupled with a large amount of alcohol." Replied Johnson.

"Anything else?" Nick asked.

"Higgins and Fangmeyer are canvassing her neighborhood for surveillance footage from the area. Forensics found raccoon hairs in the carpet of Grazer's apartment." Johnson said.

"Well that's interesting." Nick said as his eyebrows flashed with interest. "Does the D.A. already have Mrs. Grazer's financial records?"

"They're in the process of adding bribery charges for Ringtail." Replied Johnson.

"Anyone talk to Code Enforcement?" Nick asked.

"Nope… he got a lawyer." Johnson said. "From what I heard, it sounds like he might be facing charges as well."

"I guess Mrs. Grazer was going to as well, had she not died." Nick said.

"Most likely." Johnson replied.

"Wilde!" The booming voice of Chief Bogo from the entrance to the offices.

"Yes, Chief?" Nick said as he turned to look at the buffalo.

"You have a visitor, Interrogation Room 3." Bogo said as he continued walking down the hall, Nick curiously excused himself from Officer Johnson and walk toward the interrogation rooms on the floor below the lobby. He descended the stairs into a stark corridor, walking past soundproof doors until he found one labeled 'Interrogation Room 3'. Inside, a female raccoon sat nervously, trying to use her purse as a stress ball. She appeared to be in her mid-30's, dressed conservatively. Nick opened the door gently to try and avoid spooking her; she jumped slightly as the door creaked.

"Hello, I'm Officer Wilde, how are you?" He said gently as he closed the door slowly to keep it from banging.

"I'm fine, thank you, I'm Andrea Ringtail." She said as they shook paws. Nick tried to hide his interest as she mentioned her surname.

"How can we help you, Ms. Ringtail?" Nick said pleasantly. "Oh! I'm sorry, can I get you anything? Water? Coffee?" He added quickly as he grabbed the chair opposite of Ms. Ringtail.

"No, thank you, I'm fine." Ms. Ringtail said nervously, still holding her purse tightly. "You're looking for my husband, Theodore Ringtail."

"Yes ma'am, we are." Nick tried to say as compassionately as possible, but being direct at the same time. "We—believe he had something to do with the collapse at the Caribou Arcade."

"I know." She looked Nick straight in the eyes. "I want to turn him in." His eyes bulged slightly as she spoke.

"O—okay…" Flabbergasted. Nick couldn't believe what she had just said to him.

"Would you be able to tell us where we can find him?" Nick asked as he started to take notes with a carrot shaped pen.

"He hadn't been home since the mall collapsed, never told me where he was. Last night he called and said he was coming home tonight and that I should have my bags packed and ready to go." Ms. Ringtail said as she recounted.

"Did he say where you two were going?" Nick asked.

"No." She replied as Nick continued to take notes. "All this time, I thought he was having an affair." Ms. Ringtail said, taking a tissue out of her purse. "I knew he had been taking money out of our account for a while. I thought he was covering up some second family, or something."

"Did he cheat on you before?" Nick asked as the female raccoon started to break down, stifling sobs with her tissue.

_Mm-hmm…_ She nodded mournfully. "He kept saying he was going to change…" Ms. Ringtail gasped before trying to speak again. "I should have left him years ago…"

"How long have you two been married?" Nick asked.

"Fifteen years…" She replied.

"If you don't mind my asking, what made you stay with him for so long?" Nick asked rather puzzled.

"I love him…" Ms. Ringtail said as she looked up at the fox. "As much… as I _hate_ him, I have always loved him…"

"Why do you want to turn him in?" Nick asked. Andrea Ringtail was silent for a moment, her eyes shifted around as she formulated her response to the police officer.

"I can't live with myself…" She said in between sobs. "I can't live with myself knowing he was responsible… _so many…_" Ms. Ringtail descended into almost hysterical weeping. Nick stood up and exited the room, walking down the bare hallway to a water cooler and poured a paper cup for the woman in the interrogation room.

"Here…" He said softly offering the cup to her.

"_Thank you…_" She whimpered as she tried to collect herself, taking a sip from the cup.

"Did your husband say what time he was going to pick you up?" Nick asked.

"He just said he was coming by this evening… he never gave a time." Ms. Ringtail replied.

"Where do you two live?" The cop asked.

"Canopy Heights, in the Rainforest District." She said.

"Doesn't Gazelle live there?" Nick asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah…" Ms. Ringtail managed a feeble giggle. "I'm friends with her driver."

"Isn't that interesting…" Nick said, momentarily awestruck he was this close to the rich and famous of Zootopia.

"So…" Nick tried snapping back to the case at hand. "do your neighbors know who he is?"

"Theodore won't allow us to use our real name…" Ms. Ringtail said. "To the general world, we go by Mr. & Mrs. Arconco, but I think they have their suspicions about who my husband is."

"Ms. Ringtail, you are aware that if we catch him, he's going to jail, you know that right?" Nick said seriously, watching her expressions as she nodded solemnly.

"I know…" She breathed softly.

"This is my card…" Nick reached into his breast pocket and handed him a business card. "The number on the bottom is my personal number, you can call or text me day or night, okay?"

"Yes, thank you, I will." Ms. Ringtail said as he accepted the card and tucked it in her purse. Nick held the door open for her as they exited and walked to the lobby. He waved to her as she walked through the doors and back out into the city. The sun was beginning its slow descent into night as Nick turned and walked quickly back to the offices.

"Hey Johnson! Up for a stake out?"


	15. Canopy Heights

They could smell the money that wafted through the air as vehicles passed through the guard shack that separated Canopy Heights from the world of the regular people. Home of the elite, the enclave was one of the extremely limited cases where the Zootopia Police Department could not freely enter without expressed direction from the Chief of Police and, as rumor has it, approval from the Mayor directly. There was enough money and power behind the meticulously manicured hedges to make anyone's eyes water at the sight. Of course, in a neighborhood like this, ordinary maintenance vans and construction crews would never be allowed through the main entrance. They were relegated to another entrance, away from the main gate so as to not offend the sensitive eyes of Zootopia's elite.

"Can you imagine living in here?" Officer Johnson said as he watched the guarded entrance as cars passed through the gate, his deep, growling voice reverberating within Nick's body as he spoke.

"Each one of those houses in there is probably worth more than all of our salaries combined." Nick replied.

They had a clear view of the main road into the neighborhood from their spot in a real estate office that had closed up for the day. The windows of the office had pictures and listings of various mansions that were on the market. In front of them, cars, SUV's, and the occasional limousine passed through the gate uninterrupted. The police officers watched as an RV tried to pass through the gate, they watched the body language of the guard and the driver of the house on wheels. After what looked like a testy exchange between the two, the guard eventually waved the massive vehicle through, likely because it would have been impossible for the RV to turn around, not to mention a line of cars starting to form behind them.

"Maybe we'll get to see Gazelle while we're here." Johnson said.

"She'll probably see us before we see her." Nick replied, taking a sip of coffee.

"You know, I read somewhere that if you mail one of these snobs a wedding invitation, there's a fifty-fifty chance they might actually send you something." Johnson said.

"In that case, wanna get married?" Nick said, turning to bat his eyes in a pseudo-flirtatious gaze.

_Pffffttt!_ Johnson shook his head grinning.

"Guess they don't even bother reading the envelopes." Nick said.

"Guess not." Replied Johnson. "So, what's this Ringtail guy like, anyway?"

"Dunno, his wife says he's cheated on her in the past." Nick said.

Johnson scowled. "If I ever cheated on Catherine, her and her friends would have me served on a platter."

"What do you think would happen to _me_? Judy's family runs a farm out in the middle of nowhere. You'd never see my beautiful mug ever again." Nick chuckled slightly, fading rapidly as his mind was brought back to her.

"Hey, she's going to be alright, Wilde." Johnson said as he watched the expression changing on Nick's face. "They're probably digging her up right now." The lion tried sounding as enthusiastic as he could, hyping up finding someone buried under tons of concrete was a tough sell, even for the savviest of salesmen.

"If only…" Nick said glumly as he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.

THIS IS ANDREA RINGTAIL, MY HUSBAND IS HERE. Nick read the text message from an unknown phone number.

"Showtime…" The fox said as he started to respond to the text message.

"Is that her?" Johnson asked.

ANDREA, THIS IS NICK WILDE, CAN I GET YOUR ADDRESS? He typed and sent.

"Yes it is." Nick said as he waited for a reply.

12125 MAHOGANY VISTA

"Got the address, do you have the letter from the Chief Bogo?" Nick asked.

"Tucked in the visor." Johnson said as he started the engine of the car, creeping out of the parking lot and toward the entrance to Canopy Heights.

"Good evening gentlemen, names please?" The guard asked as the car pulled up.

"Evening ma'am, I'm Officer Johnson; this is my partner, Officer Wilde." Johnson said as he motioned to himself and to Nick.

"What can I help you with, officer?" The guard replied.

"We need you to let us through the gate, please." The lion replied firmly.

"And to whom are you looking for?" The guard asked equally seriously.

"Ringtail, Theodore Ringtail." Johnson said.

"There is no resident by that name here." The guard said, folding her arms.

"Arconco, my partner meant Mr. and Mrs. Arconco, 12125 Mahogany Vista." Wilde said from the passenger seat.

"What purpose?" The guard grilled.

"Ma'am, this is an ongoing police investigation, we have a copy of the letter that the Chief of Police faxed to you earlier today, and a warrant." Johnson said as his frustration began to build while the car sat at the guard shack. The guard stepped back inside the shack and searched through some papers on the desk.

"Go on through, have a good evening." The guard said as she pushed a button raising the barrier blocking the lane.

Nick felt strangely excited as he passed by massive homes, barely visible through the tall hedges and trees lining the street. The road curved gracefully as wrought iron gates protected the homes from unwanted visitors. The neighborhood was built on a mountainside, several homes sat perched on bluffs overlooking the commoners below. As the car navigated the street, they felt like cattails drifting in the breeze, swaying gracefully in the wind. Nick was mildly surprised that most of the vehicles that passed were not ultra-expensive sports cars, or gold plated limousines, but rather ordinary cars, by Nick's standards anyway.

"Have you been back in here before?" Nick asked as he tried to catch a sight of some of the houses past the screening hedges.

"Never." Johnson said as he cruised slowly through the neighborhood, passing an RV heading in the opposite direction.

"12125, there it is." Nick said as Johnson turned into the driveway. "I think this is the only house I've seen without a gate in this neighborhood."

They parked next the garage and popped the doors. The warm, muggy air of the Rainforest District instantly greeted them. From the driveway they saw an impressive view of the Rainforest District, distant lights twinkling from thousands of magnificently tall trees and from the forest floor. It was like they were on a balcony with a close-up view of the nighttime stars. The house itself was relatively modest. A three story home, with a four car garage, built in a Georgian style. Surprisingly reserved given the other real estate. The pair approached the front door and Officer Johnson knocked loudly with his paw.

No answer.

Johnson and Wilde looked at each other. There were lights on in the house, but no sign that anyone was home.

_BANGBANGBANG!_ Johnson knocked on the door again.

"Let me check around back." Nick said as he walked around the house. He couldn't help but admire the view of the Rainforest District as he opened the gate into the back patio of the house. Walking carefully through the patio, he peered through one of the sliding doors. Among all the things inside the house, Nick's eyes locked to a staircase where clothes were strewn on it like someone threw a laundry basket down the stairs. As Nick followed the steps downward, he saw a pair of suitcases that had popped open. Finally, his eyes reached the bottom of the stairs.

"_JOHNSON!_" Nick yelled as he scrambled back to the front of the house. "Johnson! Is that door unlocked?" The lion tried the handle, opening the door into the house without resistance.

"What'd you find, Wilde?" Asked a surprised Johnson.

"Andrea!" The fox bolted through the door, the lion following closely behind him. They reached the raccoon as she lay at the bottom of the stairs, in the same clothes she had on during their meeting in the interrogation room, partially tangled in a pair of pants from the luggage that rested midway up the stairs.

"Ms. Ringtail!" Nick said frantically trying to get her attention as Officer Johnson called for back-up.

The raccoon started to stir, becoming conscious, she started shrieking in pain.

"Okay! Don't move! Just relax, okay?" The fox said as he tried to keep her still.

She groaned as she tried to move her body, her face contorted in pain.

"Don't move, Andrea, okay?" Nick replied quickly. "Do you remember what happened?"

Nick watched Andrea as her mind began spinning, trying to recall the events that lead up to where they were now. "He came home…" She said as she started breathing heavily as the shock wore off, still trying to move despite Nick's pleas. "He told me to get my bags together…" The raccoon started crying. "I laid my phone on the night stand… and he saw the text… He smacked me and started screaming at me…" Her paw went up to cover her face as tears streamed from her eyes. "Your card fell out of my pocket…" Andrea gasped and she was openly crying, her face contorting almost beyond recognition. "…and he threw me down the stairs…"

Nick turned back to look at Johnson, his face burning with anger. They listened as anything else Andrea Ringtail said became a distorted cacophony of gasping and wailing. Johnson let out a low rumble as he folded his arms together tightly, his fingers pinching the bridge between his eyes as he listened to the woman lying on the floor.

"Did you happen to see what he was driving?" Nick asked gently as he could.

"No…" Ms. Ringtail said through sobs.

"The ambulance just passed through the gate." Johnson said listening to the chatter on their radio.

"I'll go flag them down." Nick left the raccoon with his partner and opened the door back outside. The moist air swallowed him as he walked through the driveway and up to the street. He stood out into the street, waving down the ambulance and the backup that followed. As he walked down the concrete path toward the front door, he could hear the loud shrieking of Andrea Ringtail as she was being lifted onto the stretcher and watched the raccoon be loaded into the ambulance. Her face was barely visible with the neck brace.

"Hey Wilde!" Johnson called as he stopped at the front door.

"What's up?" Nick replied, turning to look at the lion.

"You remember that RV we passed earlier?" Johnson asked.

"Yeah… why?" The fox said raising an eyebrow.

"Take a look at the security camera video." The lion waved Nick back into the house and followed him into the kitchen. In the corner, was a small flat screen television, connected to different security cameras around the house. Nick watched the images from the back patio, front door, the garage, and the driveway. Johnson picked up the remote that had rested on top of the DVR box and started scrolling through a menu.

Suddenly, a recorded image of the driveway was displayed on the full screen of the television.

"This was about two hours ago…" Johnson said as he pressed fast forward on the remote. For a while, everything seemed quiet and ordinary, just the lights of passing cars rushing by. Johnson hit play as a large RV came into view, the two watched as the lumbering giant slowly crept into the driveway. In the darkness, he saw a small animal emerging from the RV. Nick had to squint his eyes to try and see who the creature was in the darkness, but evaded the image of the camera as he went toward the front door. Johnson fast forwarded just a few moments later to see the creature scrambling out of the front door and back into the RV, turning it around in the driveway and exiting. Nick felt frustration boiling within him as he watched the car driven by Officer Johnson cruise into the driveway only a few minutes later.

Johnson pressed a few more buttons on the remote and pulled up the camera guarding the front door. Again, they watched as the video fast forwarded through an ordinary evening, until the RV came into view. This time, with the help of a nighttime mode on this camera, they were able to see the image of a raccoon wearing a poorly fitting business suit walking up to the front door.

"We were _this close…_" Nick snarled to himself as he watched the raccoon rush out of the house and leave in the RV. He wanted to throw something. He wanted to hit something… or someone. The man who was responsible for Judy being trapped in a collapsed shopping mall, the man who threw his own wife down the stairs had slipped through his fingers. His fists clenched as he felt himself trying to grasp onto the sands of justice that were slipping away from him.

"We're going to find him, Wilde." Johnson said as he watched his partner seething.

"Now he knows we're on to him, and he's going to do everything he can to lay low." Nick replied angrily.

"He's driving an RV; we won't be able to miss him." Johnson reassured Wilde.

"We don't have a plate; we barely know what it looks like." Nick replied rubbing his face. He looked down as his phone began vibrating against his leg, pulling it out of his pocket; he saw a phone number he didn't recognize.

"This is Nick Wilde…" He said in his business-professional tone he saved for phone calls and interactions with a customer service representative, or cashier at the grocery store.


	16. Lost

Every one of their footsteps stirred up dust as Search and Rescue combed through the debris of the Caribou Arcade looking for victims, and hopefully survivors. Each step had to be careful and calculated, one wrong move meant getting a foot punctured by spikes of twisted rebar, or worse, landing on a weak spot and falling to an uncertain fate. Lieutenant Black took each step in a near meditative calm, after being at the site on his third night in a row; he had developed a feeling for where the risky spots were in the rubble.

The first night Lieutenant Black was assigned his section at the collapsed mall, the screaming was almost overwhelming. Everywhere he turned; his ears were flooded with cries of animals trapped all around him. The first night, animals were as easy to spot as Easter eggs at a children's hunt. Now on his third night, the screams had died down, cries became harder to hear. He knew that animals trapped underneath his feet were starving, dehydrated, and running out of time. With each careful step, he knew that there would be fewer animals that would be saved. With each passing hour, there were fewer and fewer howls from his colleagues across the wreckage.

Lieutenant Black took one step at a time, with each step; he took a long sniff and listen, trying to get a trace of any scent or sound coming from under him. He tried supporting himself against the bent and twisted remains of an escalator as he observed a void into a lower level. The wolf crouched and took out his flashlight. A large concrete slab had come to rest on some cars in the underground parking garage. Judging by the elevation from the street, Lieutenant Black guessed the cars were parked on the first or second level of the parking garage before the collapse. He knew the third level was nearly flooded. He watched as one of the elephant cops tried digging frantically trying to save someone trapped in the flooding parking lot. The cop's voice still rang in his ears as she pounded her fists against the concrete, refusing to accept that she couldn't do anything. He could only watch as the overwhelmed officer was escorted away by the Chief of Police and another colleague.

The wolf breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that the cars were not submerged. With careful movements, he crawled through the cavern, taking deep sniffs. The odor of gasoline lingered faintly in the air, followed by another, unfamiliar scent. He stepped gently near the cars and continued to follow the new scent. Lieutenant Black reached a minivan designed for one of the larger animals in Zootopia, possibly an elephant, or a rhinoceros. He began sniffing around the car, honing in on the driver's side door.

Quick and careful didn't go hand-in-hand as the Sniffer hurried back through the void. He had to get out in the open so the others could hear him. As he finally emerged, he stuck his muzzle high into the air and…

_Aaa-woooooooo!_

Lieutenant Black howled into the night sky, howling as loud as he could, trying to get the moon to hear him. As he finished his howl, he opened his eyes and found a small team rushing to his aid.

_"I think I found someone!"_ He called out to them. _"Get a metal cutter! We got to cut into a car!"_

The group of firefighters and some police officers and paramedics arrived at Lieutenant Black's location, one carrying a set of hydraulic shears. Given the volatile nature of their surroundings, anything that created sparks were too dangerous to use, which ruled out any saw the fire department had. The shears looked like a metal crab claw, and cut through metal the same way a stubborn toddler would pick at their vegetables. Much like trying to navigate the ruins of the Caribou Arcade, it was going to be an agonizingly slow process. The doors were fused shut; the concrete slab crushed the car so that roof was where the bottom of the windows would have been. Starting at a gap where the door was bowed, the firefighter handling the shears began cutting away at the metal and plastic. All anyone else could do was watch as the shears tore into the car.

"How many did you find today?" One of the firefighters asked to Lieutenant Black.

"Only five…" The wolf replied.

"Alive?"

"No…" Lieutenant Black said as plainly as if he was asked to participate in a survey. He was surrounded by enough death the past few days that it didn't seem to faze him anymore. He had to compartmentalize and make sure his emotions didn't get the better of him. It was the only way he could have been here this long.

"Someone is definitely in there!" The shear operator said as he paused, shining a light into the car. "On the floorboard, in front of the driver's seat." He repositioned the shears and continued cutting as anticipation was building. Lieutenant Black couldn't deny that his heart was hoping for a survivor, but his mind had to remind them of the reality of the situation. The claws of the hydraulic shears made it look like easy work as it tore into the car door.

Finally, a hole was created through the door of the car, the firefighter tried cutting back some of the sharp edges so the paramedics could work. He beckoned his fellow firemen to help drag the detached metal from the car as the medics rushed in to extract the creature inside. The dashboard was completely out of place with the steering wheel resting on the driver's seat. The steering column acted like a makeshift support beam holding up the roof of the car. The inside was completely dark except the flashlights that shined into it. All the windows had disappeared, bits of broken glass were scattered everywhere in the seats and the floor. Contents of the glove box had spilled into the passenger side floorboard. The flashlight shined up at the roof of the car to see a hole where a sunroof used to be.

"She's alive!" One of the paramedics burst with excitement as the rest of them moved in to try and help.

"She's got a weak pulse…" The other medic commented to his partner. "Let's get her extracted!"

Lieutenant Black tried to make out who they were pulling out, but it was hard to see over the paramedics working to save her life. The few glimpses he got, she was either covered in dust or caked with dried blood. The wolf savored the short-lived moment of joy as he climbed back out into the open. He took one last moment to enjoy his pride, only to go back to the reality of searching for the next animal lost in the rubble.

* * *

They passed under a street light as Stu and Bonnie walked down the quiet street a few blocks for the apartment Nick and Judy shared. Bonnie's arm was safely secured under Stu's as he always did, acting as a shield against the dust and debris kicked up by passing cars. Above them, the clear night sky offered a decent view of the stars above.

"They're not as bright as they are back home." Bonnie said as she looked up, even the moon appeared dirty and yellowed in the polluted sky above the city.

"Too many lights." Stu said, beckoning to the streetlights and the glow from the surrounding windows.

"Remember when she left home?" Bonnie said wistfully as they walked.

"Oh yeah…" Stu replied with a chuckle. "I don't think we slept at all the first night she left."

"How are we going to get through _this…_?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, Judy has surprised us before." Stu replied as he stroked her bicep with his paw.

"This is different, Stu!" Frustration was building in Bonnie's voice. "It's not like she came home and told us she was moving overseas."

"I know, Bonnie, what I meant was that we shouldn't give up hope." Stu said as he tried to comfort his wife.

"She's been missing for almost _three days!_" She stressed. "Judy's not going to walk out of there like nothing happened!"

"I know…" Stu replied lifting his hat with his free paw to scratch his scalp.

"What are we going to do?" Bonnie asked. "What if she doesn't make it?" She turned to look into her husband's bronze eyes.

"Well…" He started, Bonnie's violet eyes focused on him as he searched for a response. "We have the family plot…" The answer didn't do much to assure her, for a while they just strolled silently down the street.

"You know I'll have to go back home soon for the season's harvest…" He said quietly.

"I know…" She nodded. "We can't just leave."

"Believe me; I don't want to leave either." Stu agreed as they turned to climb the steps to the apartment building. He pulled the door open and ushered his wife inside, looking at a parked police cruiser as he pulled the door closed. As they ascended onto the floor where Nick and Judy lived, they watched curiously as a mammoth Cape buffalo stood in front of their daughter's apartment wearing a police uniform and knocking on the door.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" Stu asked. He watched as the buffalo raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the pair of rabbits.

"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Hopps?" The buffalo asked.

"Yes…" Stu replied cautiously as he felt Bonnie grip his arm tight.

"I am Chief Bogo, Chief of Police at the Zootopia Police Department." The buffalo replied.

"Is there a problem?" Stu asked, Bonnie held onto him to keep from shaking.

"It's about your daughter, Judy." Chief Bogo said. "We found her."


	17. Not Like This

Nick could barely wait for the doors to slide open before bursting into the elevator bay of the Intensive Care floor, his feet skid across the polished white floors as he turned and bolted toward the junction to more hallways. He slowed down only slightly to read the sign and the room number he was looking for. As he found the direction he needed to go, he charged around the corner, his hip slammed into a medical cart while weaving around patients and hospital staff. Medical supplies clattered to the floor like silverware as he ignored the scolding coming from nurses making their rounds. He continued to run while ignoring the pain in his hip. The silhouette reflected faintly on the tiled floor as he rushed down the corridor, panting like he was approaching the finish line to a marathon. His heart leapt through his body, certain he had triggered every speed camera from the Rainforest District to Savanna Central on the way to the hospital. If Nick was going to lose his license, he didn't care. He only slowed down as the hospital room numbers got warmer and warmer. Stopping as he looked at one of the room numbers.

Nick stepped back for a moment as a gurgling maw of excitement, fear, adrenaline and anticipation stewed within him. He was afraid of what he was going to find. He was on the edge of a high dive, his eyes going blurry as he looked out upon the uncertainty that he was about to step into. His breath was rapid. Sweat soaked through his collar and irritated his skin. Nick glanced back to see hospital staff picking up the supplies that he had knocked off the medical cart in his haste to get to where he was now. It was the only thing he wanted the past three nights. It was the only thing that could make him believe that this was not some wild hallucination. He tried imagining was she would have done in his position. She would have been tough. She would have charged in. She would have been brave. After working up the courage, with one foot at a time, he turned into the hospital room.

He gripped the door frame as he felt his knees buckling. The privacy curtains were pushed back, allowing Nick an uninterrupted panorama of the clean and polished of the room. He looked over to a two cushion couch where Stu and Bonnie sat, holding each other. Bonnie's face was buried into her husband's shoulder, faint gasps echoing through the room as Stu held her. Judy's father focused stoically ahead, doing his best not to make any noise as he massaged his wife's back. The dry-erase board behind the rabbits had the names of the nurses on shift this evening and some basic care instructions. Against the wall was a bookcase, presumably for flowers and notes from well-wishers. The dark night was visible through the window, with lights from the opposite wing of the hospital shining through leaving shadows on the floor.

And there she was. Her ears folded down, eyes closed. A monitor beeped rhythmically as Nick traced different wires and tubes to her body. A tube protruded from her mouth like a long drinking straw, attached to her face with medical tape. IV lines traced their ways from her arms up to plastic sacs. Various bandages covered her face and extremities, Nick could make out the outline of some more underneath the hospital gown.

This is not what he wanted. Not like this. He wanted her to walk through the front door of the apartment, wiping her brow and tossing her cap on the rack across the room. It was supposed to be like those movies where the hero supposedly dies only to emerge victorious. This was not victorious. He wanted to shake her. Scream at her. Somehow, this was worse than what he had imagined.

"Good evening." Nick could have jumped onto the next floor as the large black bear made his way into the room.

"I'm sorry! Did I scare you?" The doctor's voice rumbled as he saw Nick jolt.

"No, no, you're fine…" Nick replied quickly as he tried to settle his breathing down.

"I'm Dr. Dennison, and you are?" The doctor said warmly as he offered his paw.

"Nick Wilde, Judy is my fiancé." The fox said as he shook the bear's paw.

"Pleasure to meet you. And you two must be Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, correct?" He said as he turned to the two rabbits.

"Yes… I'm Stu, this is my wife Bonnie." The male rabbit croaked as he also shook paws, Bonnie simply nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Mr. Wilde, please." Dr. Dennison beckoned him into the room as the bear went to close the door to the hallway. Nick's heart began to race again as be braced for the information that was about to come from the doctor.

"Judy's prognosis is very uncertain right now…" Dr. Dennison said gently as he held his clipboard in his hand. "The priority is dehydration and preventing GI stasis." He read from his papers. Out the corner of his eye, Nick saw the two rabbits wince as the doctor mentioned GI stasis. "She has a lot of broken bones, and we are monitoring her for any nerve damage in her spine. We are also concerned about internal bleeding."

"Is she going to be okay?" Stu asked as he consoled Bonnie.

The doctor took a deep breath before speaking. "It's too early to tell."

A rush of emotions surged inside Nick. He was finally face to face with Judy, but no closer to knowing if she was going to be okay. It was like he was back at the Arcade, screaming her name into the dust and debris of the fallen shopping center. Frustration simmered as he listened to the doctor, he wanted an answer, and he _deserved_ to know if Judy was going to come home. Their future together was being stripped away. The feeling of helplessness was too much, he _had to know._

"You don't know anything else?" Nick asked. Desperation started to peak through as he tried to restrain his emotions.

"Keep in mind, she was only admitted a few hours ago." The doctor emphasized.

"You haven't done anything?" Nick's heart started to race like he was being backed into a corner. A cacophony of thoughts battled each other inside of him. _How _dare_ he? Where did this know-nothing doctor come from? He has no business being anywhere near her!_

"The priority is getting her stable." Dr. Dennison replied calmly as his eyes scanned the fox.

"So she's just going to lay there?"

"Look, she's sustained a lot of trauma—"

"—oh I know she has!"

"I know this has been a trying time—"

"You don't even _know_…" Nick hissed as his mind went into overdrive. He couldn't stop himself. He knew he was going overboard. _Who does this bozo think he is? What third-rate medical school had the gall to let this guy practice medicine?!_

"Mr. Wilde, please, we're doing everything we can." The doctor replied, trying his best to calm the fox down.

"Doesn't look like it if you're just letting her lay there!"

"_Nick, stop it!_" Stu barked. Nick was snapped back to Earth and caught the stern glare of Judy's father. The fox felt the same rush of shame like when his mother had scolded him as a kid.

"I need coffee…" Nick said quickly as he left the four of them in the room. He huffed as he stormed down the corridor, passing some of the same staff that reprimanded him for running earlier. He found a small lounge with vending machines lined against the wall and rummaged for change as Nick approached a vending machine selling coffee and other café drinks. He pushed a coin into the slot and mashed the button for a black coffee.

_Tink!_

Nick looked down to see the small metal flap dancing to and fro. He reached through it and pulled out the coin that he initially put in, trying again to insert the coin into the slot.

_Tink!_

The fox growled as he dug in his pocket again, looking for another coin. His fingers gripped the new coin as he pulled it out and examined it, making sure it was flawless before inserting it into the coffee machine.

_Tink!_

_"Come on…"_ Nick snarled as he extracted the coin.

_Tink!_

The same coin was rejected a second time as the metal flap waved again, taunting the fox as he searched for more change. He shoved his fist in his pocket and grabbed every coin he could get a hold of.

_Tink!_

Rejected.

_Tink! Tink! Tink!_

Nick thrust random coins into the machine, all of them being rejected. He growled and swore after one coin after another was denied entry. Clinching his fist tightly, he turned around and stepped away from the machine, only to turn back around and pelt the coffee machine with his paw full of change. The coins smashed against the machine, ricocheting across the room in every direction.

It wasn't enough to soothe him as his jaw began to send jolts of pain as it was clamped shut, his lips curling in an angry growl. Air rushed furiously in and out through his teeth as he tried to find something to focus his anger on. Without a second's hesitation, he grabbed a chair that sat innocently in the lounge and began beating it against the vending machine. _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ The chair bounced harmlessly off the plastic and metal of the vending as he struck the vending machine countless times. As the fox pulled the chair back for another swing, he lost his footing, stumbled, and fell backward into a table and chairs, causing them to scrape across the floor as they were pushed out of the way. A sharp pain surged up his backside as he landed on the hard floor. The chair he was using as a weapon clattered on the floor behind him.

His eyes caught his reflection in the plastic of the vending machine. He saw the young Nick, trying to get the muzzle off of him as he collapsed against the concrete stoop of the Junior Ranger Scouts den. Panting loudly as he held back the flood gates that was ready to spill forth at any moment. He rested on the floor of the lounge in nearly the same position as he landed. Transfixed at his reflection, lost in a daze, trying to find something to focus on that was not Judy clinging to life in a room down the hall. Nick listened to his breath rush in and out of his mouth as he stared at the machine. He turned quickly as his ears picked up footsteps approaching him.

Bonnie stood quietly in the doorway. The whites of her eyes reddened and her nose still runny as she sniffed. She held her pocketbook in her paws as her violet eyes, Judy's eyes, locked with Nick's emerald green eyes. The fox looked away quickly in shame, ashamed of assaulting a vending machine, ashamed of accosting the doctor, ashamed that he didn't do enough to stop Judy from rushing into the mall. As he looked away from her, he could feel her coming closer. The corner of his eye following her feet as she got closer until she was right next to him. He continued to try and look away from her as she knelt down until she was near eye-level with Nick. He swallowed, trying to maintain a rigid composure, not letting on any sign of weakness. His brow furrowed as he began following the tiles on the floor, tracing the lines with his eyes, trying to think about something else. Anything else. He gasped suddenly as Bonnie put a paw on his arm, his mind went back to the gondola with Judy the night they tried to meet with Mr. Manchas. Nick locked his lips together tightly as he narrowed his eyes even further.

"Nick…" Her voice was barely above a whisper, watching as he chewed on his tongue. He rested his arm on his knee to put a barrier between the two of them. Bonnie pulled her paw away from him and rested it on her denim pants, still watching his face as he tried to pretend she wasn't there.

"I should have stopped her…" Nick said quietly, trying to make imaginary patterns with the floor tiles.

"It's not your fault, Nick." His paw moved to hide his face away from her.

"Yes it is!" He said angrily, his eyes darted around as he began thinking about the car chase. "I _knew_ we should have called the chase off!" Nick's teeth tightened together like they were trying to stop him from talking. "It's my fault for not stopping her! I should have stopped her, but I _didn't!_ _I let this happen!_" Bonnie just sat there and listened as he spoke, listened to every angry inhale, she watched his eyes as his the circuits in his mind began overloading.

"Nick…" Bonnie pleaded.

"She is in _there_ because of _me!_" Nick thrust a finger at the doorway before aiming the same finger back at him.

"Nicholas!" Bonnie grabbed his shoulders as he turned away from her, waves of his warm breath washing over her face as she watched him panting. Taking quick swallows and trying to avoid her eyes. "_It's not your fault!"_ She repeated desperately.

"She's in there…" Nick started, taking a massive gulp of air as his eyes began to flood. "… and I can't do anything for her…"

Bonnie unclasped her pocketbook without looking down; only glancing to make sure she was reaching in the right fold. She turned Nick's face toward her as she started dabbing a tissue under his eyes, which were developing a familiar pink hue as his nose began running.

"I'm scared, Bonnie."

"I know you are." The matriarch of the Hopps clan watched a choppy ocean as a storm swirled in Nick's eyes, waves crashing over the breakwater and down the forest of red and orange hairs.

"I don't know if I can do this…" Nick said quietly.

"Come here…" Bonnie said softly, pulling Nick into a motherly embrace, her cheek resting on his head while he listened to her heartbeat. "It's going to be okay."


	18. Coffee Trip and Longing

He clutched a knot of the blanket over his waist, exposing his bare chest to the apartment. Nick lay on the couch and stared vacantly at the ceiling, his eyes were heavy after barely sleeping. Sleep only came after sheer exhaustion came over him and silenced his overactive mind. His eyes burned with every blink. He felt like he was buried up to his neck in sand as he tried to lift his body. Every move was exhausting as he just managed to flip himself over on his side to face the coffee table. The sunlight seared his already irritated eyes as it poked through the curtains. The fox groaned irritably as he turned his back to the morning sun. It was just a reminder that Nick's nightmare was not over. As he stared into the darkness of the couch cushions, he kept seeing Judy and relived how much he just wanted to touch her.

_I can't do this._ Nick's mind repeated as he lay on the couch watching imaginary vultures circling overhead, waiting for him to draw his last breath so they can eat. With every blink, he saw Judy lying in the hospital bed. There were dozens of wires and tubes attached to the rabbit. She looked like a puppet, ready for a street peddler to make her dance for change on the street corner.

Nick finally forced himself up and rubbed the grogginess off his face with little success. His body leaned forward resting his head in his paws, which were resting on his knees. Weary groans slid out of his mouth as he tried to focus, trying to pull himself together just long enough to make it to the bathroom. _Just a few feet… it shouldn't be this hard._ Nick's mind trying to motivate him up and forward, but the more he listened to his own pep-talk, the weaker he felt. Nick was right; he should be able to pick himself up. He could see the bathroom door from where he was sitting. But he could feel the floor stretching out away from him the longer he looked at the path ahead.

It took his bladder to be the deciding factor that finally gave him enough strength to get up off the couch. His joints popped as he stood up, groaning as he pulled his weight up on to his feet. One step. Then the other. Nick forged his way across the room. It was like walking through a swamp, each foot felt like they were sinking into foul-smelling, soul-sucking mud.

He turned the faucet of the shower and let it run for a minute as he relieved himself. His body drifted slightly in a weary breeze. Steam issued upward from the water jetting out of the nozzles of the shower head.

Nick stepped into the stream of water, letting it soak straight through to his skin. The pressure in his sinuses began unblocking as he stood there. He turned to let the water hit his shoulders and back. It didn't do much to relieve the stress, but it felt good.

As he watched the steam fill up the bathroom, he thought of a moment when he watched Judy enter the bathroom while he was washing himself. It started out as a playful tease with her cracking the door open, sticking her arm through the gap, caressing the wood door and giving Nick a wave with her arm locked upright.

"Whatcha doin', Fluff?" Nick asked playfully as the arm retreated. In its place were the ears, then forehead, then the playful, sultry eyes of Judy Hopps winking at Nick quickly before disappearing. As the fox began massaging shampoo into his fur, the grey rabbit slithered through the door in her sweats she liked to wear on her days off. She clung to the door as she stared at Nick making different exaggerated faces.

She spun around, pressing her back against the door and trying to do her best 'Gazelle eyes'. She wasn't pretending to be serious, but it was adorable just to watch her bat her eyes like she was being hit with a sandblaster. Judy then did a twirl, resting her paws on the bathroom sink behind her and kicking her leg out. She arched her back like in a scene from an old movie, but without the cord that dumped gallons of water when pulled. Nick chuckled as he watched her. Judy's head snapped back to lock eyes with him, rolling her shoulder and pushing herself away from the sink. While trying to keep the soap out of his face, he watched the rabbit strut her way toward him. Her feet crossed each other while resting her paw on her hip. As she got within arm's length of the shower door, she struck a pose, thrusting her nose high in the air while her eyes never wandered away from Nick's. Judy then shuffled her feet toward the door, scrunching up the bathmat until her nose touched the door.

"Yes?" Nick said playfully as he slid the door open. Judy responded by beckoning him toward her with a finger. He gladly obliged as she reached an arm around his neck and pulled the two into a kiss. Her paw played with his wet fur while their eyes closed savoring the moment. It seemed to last forever, but he couldn't help by wonder why she was squirming so much? He tried to break free, but Judy wouldn't let him. She held Nick tight even if it felt like she was doing the potty dance. Finally, they broke away from their kiss and Nick opened his eyes to meet the devilish grin that had grown across her face. Confused, he followed her body down to her foot as it rested in the lever of the toilet.

_"Enjoy your shower…"_ The rabbit whispered as she flushed the toilet before darting for the bathroom door.

Nick let out a yelp; nearly slipping as cold water suddenly surged from the shower head. He scrambled to get away from the freezing water that poured out as shampoo was still lathered in his fur. Nick looked up disdainfully at Judy staring back at him, cackling maniacally as he huddled himself in a corner of the shower waiting for the water to warm up again. As he glared at the door, he could hear Judy's laughter echoing throughout the house.

This time, the water stayed warm. He turned the handle to the faucet and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around him and began drying his body. The remaining humidity lingered in the air as he wiped some of the fog off of the mirror. Nick's blurry reflection stared back at him as he toweled off. He checked his teeth and ran a brush through his copper-red fur. Loose hairs fell onto the floor like snow as he groomed. Anytime Judy walked by while he brushed she would sneeze as hairs landed on her nose. Nick would watch her reflection in the bathroom mirror, amused by her face as it recoiled. Sometimes he would try to shake off some extra hairs to get a combo going, which was easier if he had reached his tail.

Fully dressed, Nick exited the empty apartment, locking the door behind him. Bonnie and Stu were back at the hospital according to the note on the refrigerator. Nick didn't hear them leave; he probably wouldn't have gone with them anyway. He cringed as he thought about picking a fight with the doctor, and again when he took a chair to a vending machine. The keys jingled as they were dropped into his pants pocket. Bright sunlight poured through the windows as he descended the staircase of the apartment building onto the ground floor and washed over him as he pushed his way through the heavy door and onto the street. There was no destination in mind, just a slight pause as Nick glanced down the street deciding which direction to turn. His feet lead the way, and his body followed, basking in the sun as it dried any residual dampness from his fur. The sidewalk was weathered and cracked. Nick dodged wads of chewing gum that were blackened, gooey blobs on the concrete. He could hear Judy grumbling about how chewing gum is considered littering and citing the specific ordinance that spells out what constitutes littering and the penalties assigned to it. Her voice echoed particularly loud after swerving around elephant-sized globs that baked on the sidewalk.

Without thinking, Nick entered a coffee shop and ordered a large – relative to the fox – coffee from the barista. He leaned against the wall with his arm folded and a leg crossed over the other while waiting for his name to be called. His face was pensive, eyes focused, but not watching anyone or anything in the shop, following the course of events that were playing through his mind. As he waited, he thought about the times he and Judy would get coffee together. They both agreed that the food there wasn't particularly satisfying. Nick smirked when he recalled crouching down to eye-level with Judy and asking her what coffee she wanted in a pseudo-sweet, simpering voice. He would watch in satisfaction as she glared at him, while a shade of pink flushed across her face as he talked to her as if she were a four-year-old girl. He knew she wanted to check him into a chair, but knowing she would make a scene if she did, and knowing that Nick would use that to his advantage to further embarrass Judy in front of anyone and everyone.

He relished taunting her as much as he enjoyed trying to figure out how Judy might plot revenge. As he chuckled to himself recalling his moments with Judy, there was one looming cloud that rumbled in his mind. There was no Judy at his side. A melancholy sigh slipped from his mouth, his chest heaving slightly as his thoughts lingered on her.

_"This is the ZNN Mid-Day Report, with Fabienne Growley…"_ The television in the corner of the restaurant announced as the TV station logo came into frame along with important 'serious' music that heralded the start of the news program. "After the Collapse: Day 4" an announcer said as the words scrolled dramatically onto the screen. Nick's eyes drifted away a bit as he listened to the television; his lip curling slightly at the title-card of the day's broadcast.

"Good Afternoon, this is the ZNN Mid-Day Report, I'm Fabienne Growley," The female snow leopard said as she began the broadcast. "Four days have passed since the sudden collapse of the Caribou Arcade shopping center in Savanna Central, claiming the lives of over 600 animals and injuring over 3,000. The Mayor's Office announced that they will be holding a press conference at the scene of the disaster within the next couple hours. In a statement, the Mayor's Office said they planned to officially transition from search and rescue efforts to recovery as they begin the process of cleaning the debris from the collapsed shopping complex. Savanna Central's main shopping district remains off limits as crews work to find survivors and bring them to safety."

"Wilde!" The barista called as they sat the cup of coffee on the counter. Nick pushed himself off of the wall and grabbed the warm cup while slipping a 5 Dollar banknote into the tip jar.

"One of the survivors of the collapse includes ZPD's own Officer Judy Hopps-" Growley said into the camera. Nick's eyes flashed up to the television screen as the authoritative, professional gaze of Fabienne Growley stared straight ahead. Wilde took a quick pan around the café; the baristas knew who he was, they knew his fiancée. A handful of the regulars knew it as well. He caught the sympathetic look of one of the baristas, as well as an intrusive glance from one of the patrons who quickly began scrolling through his phone in a vain attempt at subtlety.

"Officer Hopps, who was on duty at the time of the collapse, was pulled from the rubble late last night and rushed to the hospital. The Police Department and the hospital where she was admitted declined to comment on her condition."

Nick's mind went back to Judy lying in the hospital bed, her life pivoting on a fulcrum while the only thing he could do was watch and listen as the medical equipment beeped. The bell on the door jingled as he exited the coffee shop and back out into the open, leaving Fabienne to continue her broadcast without him. The afternoon sun shined across the city as Nick shielded his eyes with his aviators. Judy's police portrait from the broadcast flashed back into his mind. Her proud smile and puffed chest was all he could think about.

As Nick waited for a traffic light, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his library of pictures that were stored in his album. Among the hundreds of pictures, selfies of Nick putting on his best smoldering eyes, images that captured Judy when she wasn't paying attention, and the ones of them together. He stopped scrolling at one picture. The traffic light had changed, but Nick was falling into the photograph of Judy bending over the kitchen sink, suds up to her elbows mid-scrub as she worked on a pile of dishes. Her eyes looked back at his, caught off guard by the fox calling out to her from his lounging position on the couch, her mouth slightly ajar and revealing her prominent front teeth. There was something breathtakingly beautiful in catching her in her natural state. Not in some contrived pose, or some generic professionalism that she mastered so well in her daily life on the force. Just her.

And that's all he wanted.


	19. A Sea of Names

The diesel engine chugged away as she stepped off the bus at Greyhound Avenue. Each step was made with purpose and grace with her back never bending and a paw only gently on the handrail for balance. The bus doors slid closed with a squeak as the engine groaned and the vehicle began to pull away from the curb. Her pace was straight and even as she walked along the sidewalk. The bus briefly passed her, only to stop at a traffic signal to wait for a green light. The white fox caught up with the bus as she too waited for permission to cross the street while her stiff skirt resisted the wind as it drifted around her slender legs. Her paw rested comfortably on the clasp of her purse as she looked straight ahead at the signal across the street. Her focus was piercing. As it turned green, her blue eyes only moved to check for cars trying to turn in front of her as her feet stepped along the painted crosswalk. The bus finally winning their little game of leapfrog as it pulled away until it was lost in the traffic of Savanna Central.

On the sidewalk, shopkeepers cleaned their windows and the merchandise they had on display. When they invited her into their stores, she politely declined and continued on her way. Opposite the windows, patrons inside picked up and browsed at the items for sale. Some ordering food and eating in the restaurants as the aromas filled her nose as she passed. The scents were inviting, but browsing was not on her agenda. Today was not the day for her to go shopping. She remained focused on her mission as she passed each alluring door front.

She crossed Greyhound Avenue and approached a tall chain-link fence that was sorely out of place on the shop-lined street. The fence was roughly twice her height and lined with a black cloth that made it difficult to see what was beyond it. However, through gaps in the fence, she saw construction workers carefully working in a pile of pulverized concrete. She could hear jackhammers drilling feverishly as wolves in police uniformed combed over the debris. Workers shouting at each other missed with the sounds of passing cars as she walked along the fence. Compared to the street and the shops, the landscape on the other side of the fence was barren and foreboding. A rugged mountain range of rock descending into a pit whose depth was unknowable. Twisted strands of steel and rebar poked through like weeds on a desert landscape.

Her footsteps slowed as she reached the first piece of a long wall of plywood that was affixed to the metal fence. As she looked down the street, she could see sheets of plywood stretching the remainder of the block. On it were the faces and names of thousands of animals, along with messages pleading for help from distraught friends and family members. From top to bottom, hardly any piece of wood was visible. Every square inch has someone's name or face affixed to a piece of paper that flapped in the wind begging for attention. She stopped to read them and to take in the pictures; all species of animal and all ages were listed as her eyes scanned the wall.

_Name: John Underwood_

_Species: White Tail Deer_

_Age: 32_

_MISSING! My husband John is the manager at Nectar Juice on the 2nd floor and was at work when the Caribou Arcade collapsed. He is a 12-point buck and had a birthmark behind his left ear. If you have any information please call me._

_PLEASE HELP US FIND OUR DAUGHTER! Her name is Amelia Trout, age 17, she is a zebra with an all black mane. She was last seen wearing a blue floral tank top and cut-off denim shorts. She was shopping with her friends, Fiona Vine, age 16, another zebra with pierced ears, and Tanya Tuscinni, 17 an elephant, if you know anything please call us._

_Help me find my daddy_

_Axel Cooper, beaver, age 16, cashier at Trendy-U. Would have been working 12-4 when the mall collapsed. Please help!_

She took her time reading the messages. Each one accompanied with a picture of an animal, a school photograph, family photo, or a hastily cropped picture. Pleas for help typed neatly surrounded by hand-written notes and some written in crayon.

_Please help…_

_My wife…_

_Have you seen this mammal?_

_My sister, Cynthia Fern…_

_Age 51…_

_My daughter, age 14…_

_My grandchildren…_

_MISSING!_

_Please call…_

_Help us!_

_Harold Patterson…_

_William 'Willie' Woolf…_

_Age 20…_

Each note she read had a story behind it. At the fox's feet, flowers, candles, and other mementos rested on the sidewalk or propped up against the fence. Some candles still had a weak flame, others had burned through the wax all the way to the bottom with no more wick left to burn. Bouquets of flowers, some fresh, some wilted and dying rested on the ground with petals coming loose and drifting in the breeze. The wrappings rustling as gusts blew through Savanna Central. The white fox knelt down to pick up and reposition a teddy bear that had fallen on its side, propping it against the metal fence. Pleased with the adjustment, she went back to reading the messages, taking slow steps down the street while never taking her eyes off the pieces of wood.

The fox paused at one image. She took a deep breath as she read the familiar message. Her icy blue eyes scanned every inch of the picture that accompanied it. Her poise never wavered as she stood there in her black blazer and skirt. She never lost her composure even as her face tightened the longer she stared at the image. The fox reached up and grabbed the message and the picture and carefully detached it from the wall. She took care not to rip the page as she brought it closer to her. The still image stared back at her oblivious of what was happening around it. It was oblivious to the sigh, unaware of the paws that began to tremble as she held it, unmoved as the piece of paper was delicately folded and placed inside the purse that rested at the fox's hip.

Her errand had been completed. There was no other business she had in Savanna Central today. She remained on the street reading all the messages, looking at all the faces until she reached the street corner and the end of the long board. As she walked back to the bus stop, a sense of guilt began to tug at her legs as she walked. A feeling came over her, as if she were abandoning these people. Their faces cried out to her as she passed them, paws and hooves reaching out to grab her sleeves, her tail, anything to get her to stop. As she reached the busy Greyhound Avenue, she took a longing glance back, the messages still crying to her from a distance. The fox turned to see a bus coming toward her and with a final lament; she stepped onto the bus leaving the ruins of the Caribou Arcade with her wedding picture safely secured in her purse.


End file.
